The Flower that Blooms in Spring
by wordsflowfreely
Summary: Tsubaki Yoshino wasn't always Tsubaki Yoshino, and what's even more interesting is that she wasn't always in this world. So when she starts meeting Yusuke and the team she's faced with questions like who brought her here and what exactly is her place in this new world? And more importantly, what if the things she wants in this life contradict the canon that she knows and loves?
1. Prologue

_I'm going to say this at the very beginning, I obviously don't own Yu Yu Hakusho and this story is heavily inspired by the story Lucky Child. If you haven't read that story yet then you should, it's absolutely amazing. _

* * *

**Prologue**

Night had fallen and a full moon could be seen through the window that I asked be kept opened for once. The night nurse, bless her soul, agreed knowing that this could very well be my final request.

There's a cot lying beside me holding the strongest woman I have ever had the grace to know. Beside her was a bouquet of freesia flowers, my final gift to the woman that raised me in an adverse setting.

I felt at peace, knowing what was to come, I gazed at the full moon one last time, and then all I saw was light.

Then I became her.

I became me.

The new me.

Tsubaki Yoshino.

* * *

_And that's it so far. This is going to be my OC reincarnated into the world of Yu Yu Hakusho as an OC. Does that make sense? I just recently started reading fanfiction again and was lucky enough to find Lucky Child. I read all 99 chapters within the course of two days and when I realized that the story wasn't finished and that the author wouldn't be able to update for at least another 3 weeks I started writing this story as a way to cope._

_Hope you enjoy!_


	2. Five Years Old

**Five years old**

* * *

The foundation of brain development depends heavily within the first 5 years of a child's life. Particularly between the ages of 3-5, that is when a child is learning the most. They typically enter into a learning environment and this is where children learn to form connections with other children and build habits that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives. Much of their development is dependent on having a nurturing home environment.

Luckily, in this life I was given a phenomenal chance at a good start to life.

Ironically, my father was a doctor and my mother worked as a florist. Two subjects that I absolute loved in my previous life; medicine and the language of flowers. They were both kind people and despite missing my first family I grew to love them just as much. They called me their 'lucky flower' taken literally if you were to translate my name into English, Tsubaki meaning camellias and our family name, Yoshino, meaning lucky field.

And I _felt_ lucky.

My new parents do everything in their power to provide me with the tools I'll need in life. Even when I was at an age when most other babies wouldn't be able to create enough connections in their brains they were feeding me with books and information that not every child gets to learn even when they're older. My mother read to me before I had even turned one and my father always told me that I was his favorite audience to practice his research projects to.

I loved it. I loved them, especially now that my brain was at an age where it was easier for me to relearn everything.

Tsubaki Yoshino is Japanese, a drastic change from my previous life I was born in the Philippines but grew up in Connecticut. I moved to America when I was three years old, but to me it was still a drastic change. The weather, the language, the lifestyle, all of it was so different and I had only been three. But compared to now...well, this _certainly_ takes the cake for drastic.

There was still a small mental block for me when it came to Japanese. I understood it and I was able to start speaking it better in the last few months, but I missed English. At times, when I know that my parents are asleep I'll translate my picture books into their English counterparts. I'll point to a word and say out loud the English reiteration. Even with my young brain I knew this would be too advance but I didn't want to let go of something so important to my past.

My memories of my previous life had remained in tact. I slowly began recalling them when my brain was able to develop well enough for me to be able to remember more. Slowly, bit-by-bit, I was regaining pieces of an old puzzle as I was simultaneously creating a new one. I remembered how I lived and how I died, my mother from a previous life and even the few friends that I had been able to make.

I just wish I remembered their names. Or my name.

But now, all I had were the residual memories, and the pain of it all.

I was a cancer patient in my first life, Acute Lymphatic Leukemia, and it was horrible needless to say. I was diagnosed when I was 7 years old, spent about 5 years in and out of the hospital fighting it, went into remission at age 12. Spent a hopeful 7 years in remission only for the cancer to come back when I was about to turn 20 years old with the doctors telling that the cancer looked 10 times more aggressive than the first time. I spent another 2 years at the hospital until I passed away a few weeks before my twenty-second birthday and was given another shot at life.

And so far it wasn't half bad.

It wasn't until my first day at a new kindergarten that I had made the connection that this life wasn't just some miraculous reward for being sick in my previous body. This was the day that I made two new friends. Well, really just one friend. The other one sort of just went along with her, but five year old me was prideful and wanted to be able to tell my parents that I made two friends instead of just one.

She was the first friend that I had made in this new life. Not that my parents kept me away from other children, but because most of the children I met at the park either didn't show up the following day or they thought I was weird because I would say things not of this world. It took me a while before I realized that this life wasn't in the same year as my death. My death had taken place in May of 2019, and now I'm smack dab living through the 80's.

Most kids didn't want to play with me after I kept asking about computers and iPads and wanting to watch television together.

But regardless, I met this new friend before nap time on my first day after moving to the area. The teacher had instructed us to grab our bed sheets in order to set up for nap time and I noticed that a girl, about my size, wearing her hair in two pigtails, was trying to carry two sets of bed sheets.

"Why are you carrying so much?" I asked confused on if my parents had missed the memo and I was supposed to bring an extra blanket or something.

"My friend doesn't like to carry his things," She signed. "My mommy told me to watch out over him so I'm helping."

My older self would've told her to leave the blankets and make him get it himself but I knew that wouldn't have made sense for a five year old to have that much common sense. So instead I said, "I can help you!"

We carried the blankets into the room and I watched as the girl made not only her bed but the boy's bed as well.

"See Yusuke, that's how you make a bed so you better do it yourself next time!"

"But it's such a pain Keiko!" the boy replied back.

And that was when I made a new connection. An important connection. One that would change the entire flow of my newfound life.

"What did you say your names were again?" I asked.

"What's it to ya, new girl?" the boy said sticking his tongue out at me.

"He's not always that annoying, my name is Keiko Yukimura and his name is Yusuke Urameshi!"

Needless to say nap time wasn't a very productive period for me that day.


	3. Seven Years Old

**Chapter 2: 7 Years Old**

I spent a lot of my time during my old life watching anime. There was something inspiring about watching characters never give up and always fight for what's right. One of my childhood classics had been Yu Yu Hakusho, mostly at a young age I found a lot of comfort in seeing that the after life could be so interesting and as a child I would morbidly come up with scenarios where I would die and Botan would come to get me on her oar and offer me a job at Spirit World.

Somehow I wasn't surprised when I ended up in the same elementary school as Keiko and Yusuke. Even at this age Yusuke didn't like school and he was already building his reputation as our schools #1 Punk-ass troublemaker. He was known to pull pranks on everyone and he had a tendency to annoyingly bully the other kids into giving him extra animal crackers during snack time. He definitely acted like Yusuke, but he didn't look like him yet. His hair was always down in a floppy mess and he refused to wear anything other than his favorite color, red.

His bullying tactics usually worked with the exception of Keiko and me.

Keiko was as sweet and kind as her anime and manga version which is why it came as no surprise to me when she invited me over to her house to celebrate Yusuke's birthday with their families. I wasn't entirely sure why she invited me considering I was fairly certain Yusuke hated me but it was definitely in her character to want to include everyone.

"You're seriously inviting her to _my_ birthday? Who said I wanted her there?" Yusuke huffed beside Keiko.

"Yusuke! Stop pretending. You were the one who suggested inviting Tsubaki-chan," Keiko argued back causing Yusuke's cheeks to turn a shade of pink and made steam puff out from his ears.

"I hate her! I only suggested that as a joke because you're always going on about her! I figured it would make you shut up for once!" And Yusuke puffed out his chest and strutted away like the idiot that he is.

_This kid is going to be the one that saves our world one day?_

Keiko sighed, turned to face me and whispered, "He really doesn't hate you, please come. It'll make him happy. And my parents want to meet your parents as well, I think they're going to try and call them in a few weeks when we figure out the actual plans for it."

"I'll come," I said simply. "Birthday's are important milestones after all."

In my old life I was 7 years old when I first found out I had cancer. Despite his bad attitude, every birthday should be cause for celebration. I still wasn't sure if I should interact with them so much. What if I end up derailing them from the paths that's already been laid out for them? What if my presence ends up causing Yusuke to permanently die? Yusuke never had friends aside from Keiko in the anime. He was supposed to be considered a scary punk, would my attendance result in a change in his personality? Or what if my bluntness ends up affected Keiko and my annoyance for Yusuke somehow rubs off on her?

I tried not to become friends with them, but Keiko was just so…Keiko. She was too sweet to leave me alone and I couldn't very well tell her to leave me alone. If I somehow fought with her and made her cry there was no doubt that Yusuke would beat me up for it. And thus, Keiko and I became best friends in this lifetime.

It could be for the best when you consider that her best friends in the anime were super judgmental people. Maybe my presence could be a positive change. But how much change am I even allotted? Can I even _make_ any changes or would that result in the world blowing up?

Urgh, I'm too young for this. Or too old, oh I don't know!

I grabbed the rest of my items from my locker and made my way back home. I quickly changed out of my school clothes and put on a simple light blue dress. Since it was still cold out I had a white long sleeved shirt underneath and I made sure to grab a jacket just in case. I did my usual chores around the house, putting dishes away, leaving water out for the stray cat that likes to come around and then I made my way to the greenhouse in the back.

Since mother was a florist a lot of the plants that she offers at her shop are grown in our yard. She takes a lot of pride in caring for them, especially the ones that don't grow in season. I found mother carefully watering the plants in the back corner.

"Tsu-chan, how was school today?" She asked sweetly.

"It was fine, I was invited to my friends birthday," I explained as I went to look for scissors in the cabinets.

"Oh? Which friend? Keiko-chan's birthday was in January so it isn't hers…Do I know this person?"

"His name is Yusuke. Urameshi, Yusuke."

Mother laughed as she came over to help me get the scissors, "Isn't he the boy that you always complain about?"

"Well, yeah! Because he's dumb and annoying, he always gets mad at me when I play with Keiko. They're probably going to get married one day so I don't get why he won't leave me alone."

"Sounds like he really cares for Keiko-chan, I'm sure he's a nice boy deep down inside if Keiko likes him so much." She took the second pair of scissors and asked, "Which flowers are we giving away this time?"

It was a tradition of ours, every Thursday after school we would clip some of the flowers from our garden and give them to patients at the hospital my dad works at. Sadly we don't have enough flowers for every patient, not yet anyway, so I usually choose the families that I know are either having a hard time or people who don't always have families that can be with them.

"Sasagawa-san's daughter has to go home tonight to take care of her children and might not be back for a few days, so I'm giving them sunflowers to cheer them up. I'm giving white carnations to Minako-chan because she just had her baby last night, and Ryohei-kun is getting blue chrysanthemums because he's finally in remission today!"

"You're such a sweet child, I don't know how you manage to keep up with all the families at the hospital, I swear you know more of their histories than their own nurses."

* * *

That evening we were making our way through the deliveries around the hospital when I noticed a face that looked eerily familiar even though I know I've never met her before. My mother seemed to recognize her and pulled me over to meet her.

"Shiori-san, how are you?" My mother greeted with a worried expression on her face.

Shiori. That's what it was. That was the name of Kurama's human mother. What sort of coincidence could this be? First I meet Keiko and Yusuke, and now it's Kurama's mother? What are the odds of this happening? Judging by the looks of things this must be when Kurama's father dies. They never explained it in the anime or manga how it happened, just that it was when he was a young child. I also had no idea if this was before or after Kurama's spirit started accepting her as a mother or if he was still planning on returning to Demon World. I searched around her and didn't see a single trace of a red headed boy so I must be safe from having to meet yet another main character.

If I remember correctly, Yoko had originally been waiting until the age of 10 years old before he would gain enough power to break free from Human World, but was this before or after Shiori had already saved him from injuring himself?

The woman shook her head in sadness, "unfortunately my husband isn't doing too well it seems."

"Is your son around?" My mother asked, clearly knowing at least this woman's family standing.

"No, I wasn't sure if this would be too much for him to handle. He's already been such a sullen child growing up, I don't know how this would affect him."

I saw the look on her face and it was easy to guess that this may be one of her last nights before she becomes a widow. I looked at the last remaining bouquet of flowers in my hands, the white carnations and I knew at that moment that she needed them more and held it up for her.

"What is this?" she asked surprised.

"This is my daughter Tsubaki, she likes to go around and give flowers to families around the hospital," my mother explained. "White carnations mean strength, particularly the strength of a caring mother."

"Oh my, but you're giving those to someone else, aren't you?" She looked at my mother.

A seven year old child wouldn't have enough common sense to explain that a woman who may lose their husband soon needs the flowers more than a woman who just gave birth to their second child, so instead I smiled and said, "I have plenty of flowers at home, I'll bring more next time."

"You should accept it, Tsubaki is a very stubborn child. She won't take no for an answer," my mother explained.

And so she took the bouquet. "Thank you very much, when things calm down more I can introduce you to my son, he's around your age. Maybe you two can be playmates."

I smiled back and nodded my head even though deep inside i was hoping it wouldn't happen any time soon. Keiko and Yusuke were one thing, but the thought of going toe to toe with Kurama scared the shit out me. My mother ushered me away to go get my father, no doubt wanting to speak more with Shiori about her husband's condition.

I found out later on that night that Shiori was a regular at my mother's flower shop and that her husband had been suffering from advance stages of lung cancer. The doctors unfortunately found it in it's late stages and weren't able to treat it in time for him to even have a chance at remission.

* * *

Shiori-san liked to buy plants from my mother because she found out that her son had an interest in botany and during her visits she and my mother were able to become closer. That's why after Shiori's husband passed away it was so surprise that she ordered all of the funeral flowers from my mother's store, we of course refused to charge her for them.

We attended the wake and I, of course, presented Shiori-san with a bouquet of flowers that I chose by myself. More white carnations surrounded by Sweetpeas and, for a surprising addition, Protea which miraculously just recently started blooming in our greenhouse.

They had the wake at their house. Shiori was looking solemn and she had Kurama – _no Shuichi Minamino , remember that –_ sitting beside her. We did the usual; we bowed to the family and then prayed for the soul of Mr. Minamino. My father had to leave early in order to make it on time for his shift at the hospital, but my mother insisted on staying to help Shiori with cleaning up, apparently the Minamino's didn't have a lot of family nearby to help them. They offered to bring me home but I said I would stay and help as well.

Looking at Shiori-san made me sad. My first mother must've had to go through this as well. I wonder what flowers she had chosen for my funeral.

I waited until the end of the night before I offered my bouquet of flowers to Shiori-san. She was thankful for the bouquet, especially after I explained the meanings behind the flowers. She turned her head and called for her son.

"Shuichi-kun, come say hello," She said kindly. "This is Tsubaki Yoshino, she's the daughter of the florist that I take you to sometimes."

"Hello," he said kindly. It was hard to tell whom it was I was talking to. In the anime Shuichi Minamino was intelligent, kind and liked by most of his classmates. This one, however, didn't look like that. He was polite, but he also seemed apathetic.

"Look at the flowers she gave me, she said that this one is a—"

"Protea," Kurama answered. "Named after Proteus, Poseidon's son. It represents diversity and courage. They're difficult to grow here, especially during winter."

"Tsubaki-chan worked really hard to grow those in our greenhouse. It took us a while to track down the plant and she's been trying for the last few months to get it to grow. They started blooming this week actually."

"I also brought flowers for you," I said shyly as I handed him a bouquet of Lily of the Valley. "I hope you don't have any pets."

I wasn't one hundred percent sure about the choice of flowers. Some may call me stupid for handing Kurama a plant that could very easily be used as a weapon, but I thought they would be a good representation for him.

"Lily of the Valley, these can be poisonous if they're ingested," he stated plainly.

"But they're a promise of happiness returning!" I argued back. "Even the most dangerous of creatures deserve happiness."

I saw a slight shift in his attitude. I wasn't sure if I had said too much just now but I figured that even Yoko Kurama would offer a seven year old the benefit of the doubt when she's helping his human mother clean up a wake.

"No one can promise happiness," Kurama said softly. It was clear our mothers' thought it was because of Shuichi's father passing away, for I had a feeling this was because _Kurama_ didn't believe in happiness.

Kurama's mother recovered first, "I think that it's a very sweet gesture. Shuichi, why don't you go inside and put our bouquets in some vases with water."

Kurama bowed, said a quiet and polite thank you and left for the kitchen.

After that tense conversation with Kurama, I made my way to the bathroom. Nervous situations always made me have to use the bathroom directly after. Apparently this habit from my old life followed me into this one. I took a quick sigh of relief, washed my hands and made my way out when I heard a crash that came from the kitchen.

"Mother!" I heard Shuichi call out.

Could this be it? I ran out to the kitchen and I saw Shiori-san's arms cut up and bleeding from the glass on the ground. My mother had come into the kitchen and helped Shiori-san up.

"Don't worry Shuichi-kun, it doesn't even hurt. I'm just happy you're safe," she smiled as she sat on the kitchen table.

My mother examined the cuts on her, "we need to get you cleaned up."

"I just need a quick Band-Aid," She smiled trying to make sure that Shuichi wasn't panicked at the sight of her.

"You'll need more than just that. Mama, you should go to Papa, it looks like there's glass in her arms. He can clean it out to keep it from getting infected," I replied.

"Yes, ma'am," My mother smiled, trying her best to keep that same calm façade for Shuichi. My mother quickly took Shiori-san to the hospital with Shuichi and I in tow. Shuichi had a hard time moving, still in shock that someone would do something so kind for someone else, so I took his hand and pulled him along.

My mind was racing at the quick turn of events. This was the moment when Kurama would stop being _just _Kurama and start becoming Shuichi as well. Was this always how it was supposed to come about? They never explained the full story in the anime and I don't remember the manga well enough to know the situation other than it having something to do with Shiori-san saving him from falling.

"Why did she do it?" I heard Shuichi say beside me pulling me away from my own thoughts. "Stupid woman shouldn't have done that."

This was Kurama, without a doubt. I wasn't sure if he realized that his façade had dropped completely.

"She loves you," I answered him, unsure whether or not answering was the right thing to do. "That's why she did it."

"You could never understand," Kurama tried to argue. "She doesn't—"

It sounded like he was about to share his unique situation with his family, but quickly stopped himself. We sat in silence for a moment until I stood up.

"A mother's love knows no bound. They love with all their heart and would never want to see their child get hurt. Or at least the good ones are like that, and from what I can see, yours is one of the bests there is. You're lucky."

"Love? What is that," he scoffed.

I don't think he expected an answer, but I just smiled and said, "Love can be a lot of different things, but it's basically when you want to offer what little kindness you can to help the other without expecting anything in return."

I stretched my arms up and I went to go get some juice. By the time I came back Shiori-san was all bandaged up and Shuichi was sitting next to his mother and gave her a hug. Shiori-san looked surprised by the gesture but quickly melted into her son's arms.

Was this a sign that I should be here? Did I do something _good_?

* * *

Keiko's invitation was true to her word. About a week after meeting Shiori and the day after attended the funeral, the phone call from Keiko's mother came to invite us to Yusuke's birthday. My mother immediately said yes, most likely assuming that her young daughter needed a pick me up after attending a funeral.

That Saturday, I woke up even earlier than I usually did. Tsubaki may only be 7 years old but I could already feel the difference in this body. Not only was she much healthier than my previous body, but she was an early riser. My old body had a tendency to drag. I would usually blame it on all the medication I had to take but deep down I knew that it was because my old body was lazy.

My mother knew I was excited. The day before she took me out so I could pick out a new outfit and buy a present for Yusuke. I chose a green jacket that looked really similar to the one that he wore during the episode when he saves Kuwabara's cat after he comes back to life. Surprisingly, Keiko told me that Yusuke hated the color green, which doesn't make sense since it's the color he always wears on the show. Keiko said he didn't like it because his favorite color is red and green always clashes with it unless it's Christmas.

Who would've figured that Yusuke would be that picky?

I also made a bouquet of flowers, blue tulips for friendship and loyalty. I also threw in some bright magenta tulip blooms. I told my mom it was to represent life and the passion for living it, but it was mostly because I knew Yusuke would never want pink flowers and I was getting excited for the argument he and I would have over it.

We arrived at the Yukimura's ramen shop at a perfectly acceptable hour. I wasn't too worried about arriving early or late since Keiko had told me it would just be the three of our families and. My parents quickly integrated themselves with Keiko's parents, and although Atsuko was quickly on her way to getting drunk it was clear that my mother's nurturing side immediately wanted to take her under her wing.

Keiko's parents made ramen for everyone along with a hodgepodge of dishes they knew Yusuke enjoyed and Keiko baked a cake. It seemed like Atsuko didn't plan much for it but she seemed like she was in high spirits for Yusuke's party. I was counting the number of drinks she had and the fact that it was still less than one hand must mean she's trying to be on her best behavior.

"Here Yusuke!" Keiko smiled as she handed him a small box that was neatly wrapped in yellow gift wrap all tied together with a pretty red bow. "My present for you!"

"We weren't sure what to get you, so we had Keiko choose and she insisted on it," Keiko's mother explained.

He quickly opened the box and in it was a comb and a bottle of hair gel. He definitely looked less than impressed but Atsuko was laughing.

"That's perfect for you, son! That'll definitely be much better than your bad habit of licking your hands and trying to use your saliva to style your hair."

"Before you complain don't forget that I also made you your cake," Keiko rebutted before he could say anything.

"Yeah, I've gotten used to your "practical" gifts," Yusuke scoffed but i saw the corners of his lips starting to twitch upwards.

"Happy birthday, Yusuke!" I handed over my gift bag with a smirk on my face. I was ready for him to make fun of it, to say he hates the color green and for him to shout and get annoyed with me as per our usual routine.

He looked surprised that I gave him something. He stared at the glaringly green jacket and the girly flowers and all he could do was say, "Thank you."

"What? Did you just say what I think you said?" I asked again, not sure if I heard him correctly or not.

"I SAID THANK YOU OKAY, HAG!" He yelled and turned his face away from me. I saw his ears turning a little on the pink side.

"You're welcome," I smiled.

He grabbed his gifts from us and huffed away as he made a lame excuse saying he had to use the toilet.

"This is the first time he's gotten a gift from anyone else aside from me, "Keiko giggled. "He's really happy, don't you think so Atsuko-san?"

"Definitely, kid. Did you see how bright pink his cheeks turned?"

Keiko turned towards me and said, "watch, he's going to come out and his hair will be all gelled up and he's going to be wearing the jacket you got him and say it was because he got water on himself."

"He's such a rough little boy but he always means well," Keiko's father explained to my parents. "He's probably rummaging around the kitchen for a glass he can use as a vase for the flowers."

And true to their words Yusuke came out with his hair gelled up and the jacket on. Everyone in the room smiled at him as he awkwardly blamed it on the faulty faucet in the public bathroom.

"I'll be sure to call someone over to fix that sink then," Keiko's father said humoring him.

"You know, I have a number for a really good plumber if you want his contact," my father joined along. "That way Yusuke won't get splashed again."

"Definitely! That sink always splashes me!" Yusuke kept going as he angrily sipped on his juice.

Everyone helped clean up the birthday lunch. Well everyone except for Yusuke, he said because it was his birthday he got a pass.

"Eeehh…so is everyday your birthday then?" Keiko's eye's slanted as she handed him a broom and told him to help sweep.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're such a nag, even on my birthday!" He grumbled, but he did manage to get up and start sweeping.

At school the following days, Yusuke always had his hair gelled up and his outfits always consisted of a green jacket. He was still a few years away from 14 years old but he was starting to look more and more like the main character of my favorite show.

_Did I help with that?_

* * *

_My character is spending a lot of her time debating on her actions. Because she's older she knows that her actions can cause a lot of issues to the continuity which is why she's always looking for positive signs._


	4. Kuwabara

**Chapter 3: Kuwabara's Sword!**

"I can't believe you want to spend your 10th birthday at the park! You're so lame!" Yusuke complained at he sat down abruptly beside me. "Why would you choose a stupid park over having free food at Keiko's?"

"Yusuke, it's her birthday, she can do whatever she wants for it," Keiko scolded beside me.

"Who even said I invited you anyway, loser," I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Tsubaki! You told me to bring him with me today! Why are you two always fighting anyway," Keiko complained. "You're both too stubborn for your own good, you two both like playing together, you just won't admit it."

She wasn't wrong.

In my pervious life I spent a lot of birthdays at the hospital, so in this life, rather than have a party at home I much preferred going outside to actually _play_. So a birthday picnic at the park and that's why I asked Keiko to bring Yusuke. He was the only one who was ever willing to fully play with him. Any race or competition I offered he was more than willing to play his hardest. Most other boys would either go easy on me or just flat out refuse to even compete, but not Yusuke. He never backed down, no matter who his opponent is, and today the competition was…

"I'll bet you an extra slice of birthday cake that you can't jump further off the swings than I can!" He yelled out as he ran towards the swing set.

"I do like playing with him, but don't even think about telling him I said that," I whispered to Keiko.

"He likes playing with you too, I just don't know why he won't admit it," she signed.

I laughed, "Don't you realize? It's because he loves you and he doesn't like that I take your attention away from him."

Keiko started stuttering and blushing as I ran away from her and towards Yusuke. He and I started swinging ferociously, trying to 'out-swing' each other.

"Hey, what did you say to Keiko, I've never seen her get so mad, not even when I try to lift up her skirts," he asked. "Tell me your secret!"

"No way," I refused. "I'm higher than you by the way."

"Oh yeah? WELL WATCH THIS HAG!" He yelled at he jumped off the swing. Stupid boy, if he had waited a little longer he would've been able to get further.

I jumped off after a few more swings to gain more momentum and without a doubt I landed further than he did.

"There is no way she won!" Yusuke yelled.

"It's clear as day, Yusuke. I marked it exactly where both of you landed," Keiko argued back.

"No way, I'm taller and stronger than she is," Yusuke yelled back.

"But you're impatient, if you had taken a few more swings to gain momentum you would've gone so much further than me," I smirked at him as I rubbed my win in. "Tell you what, I'll give you half my cake if you can beat me in a race."

"YOU'RE ON!" He yelled back getting his energy back at a competition.

"But you've never won a race against her," Keiko stated.

"Well today's the day! Ready, set, GO!" He shouted.

"HEY! You little shithead! We never decided on where the finish line is," I yelled as I ran after him. "ONCE AROUND THE PARK, THE FINISH LINE IS BACK WHERE KEIKO IS!"

It's true that he's stronger than me, but his stamina is horrible. He can punch hard, but when it came to running he never did it much. Not that he'd ever run away from a fight, but maybe if I gave him a bit of training as a kid he'll be even better when he's older.

Wait. I stopped in my tracks. What if this running makes him faster and ends up causing the car to miss him because he's too fast? I starred after him as he ran around like a maniac around the park. What do I do? Is this wrong of me to do?

"AHHHHH!" A flash of orange ran past me breaking my train of thought.

Was that? _Not another one._ I looked to where the orange flash ran off to and without a doubt I saw yet another familiar face. I ran towards the screaming and whimpering. I mean I couldn't _not_ chase after him, right? Besides, maybe he was in trouble after all that screaming I heard from him.

I went towards the slide on the second set of jungle gyms and found a kid with an orange pompadour hiding away. Was this Kuwabara? He didn't have his strong features yet; his face was much rounder as a kid rather than having his angular and defined face. He was also surprisingly short; he didn't look much taller than I did maybe just an inch or two.

"Are you okay?" I asked cautiously.

The little kid turned away in embarrassment, "You wouldn't believe me."

"Maybe I will," I said softly as I couched down next to him.

"Everyone laughs at me when I tell them!" He said as tears started falling down his face. "You'll just make fun of me."

"I promise I won't laugh," I patted his back hoping it would get him to stop crying.

"Promise?" he said holding up a pinky. Oh my god, this kid was the absolute cutest. He _must_ be protected at all cost.

I grabbed pinky he offered me as well as his other one, "I double pinky-swear on all my plants at home that I won't laugh at you."

He didn't know me well enough to realize that my plants mean _everything_ to me, but I hope I was able to convey how serious I was at that moment.

"Okay, well I think…I think I saw a ghost," he whispered quietly. "There was an old lady sitting on a bench but no one else could see her. I tried telling my friend about it but he just laughed and thought it was a joke, and when I went closer to the lady I got this…this feeling like a… like a…"

"Like a…tickle?" I asked hesitantly. Was this where he and his friends got the name from?

"Yeah! Exactly! Like a tickle! There was a tickle up my spine," he nodded his head, looking a little happier than someone was listening to him. "Do you…do you believe me?"

"Yeah, I believe you. Why else would you be upset if you didn't see something?" I said seriously. "Unless you're just someone that cries over anything."

"What? No way, I'm tough! I could beat up anyone!"

"Then why did you let your so called 'friends' laugh at you and make fun of you?"

"Because…I don't know." He started thinking harder about it. "You're right, if someone laughs again then I'll just beat them up!"

I wasn't sure if that was the lesson I was trying to teach him, but if it makes him happier I guess I can leave it at that. "I'm Tsubaki Yoshino, by the way. What's your name?"

"Kazuma Kuwabara!" He smiled. "Thanks for being so nice!"

He looked so happy and I knew I was taking a big risk with my next few words but if I could keep making him a little happier than I wanted to do what I could, "Do you want cake?"

Of course he said yes. What 10 year old boy wouldn't want cake? I know Kuwabara wasn't supposed to meet Keiko, and probably wasn't supposed to meet Yusuke so soon either but maybe it'll help Kuwabara and Yusuke bond more, allowing them to fight stronger together in the future?

I pulled him towards my parents and the picnic table they had set up for us. I quickly introduced them to my newest friend and he was happily welcomed to the group. Yusuke barely acknowledged the new face because he was so happy gloating about how he beat me in our race.

"You wouldn't have won if I hadn't gotten distracted!" I argued back.

"Well a win is a win and half of your cake is mine now!" Yusuke said as he rubbed his nose getting ready to take my cake.

"Yusuke, you can't just take her birthday cake!" Keiko scolded.

"Yeah you can't take her birthday cake!" Kuwabara agreed quickly.

"Listen new kid, I won fair and square. Now pipe down and lemme eat my cake!"

"I'll fight you Urameshi! Come at me," Kuwabara shouted. "I'll win back your cake for you, Yoshino-san!"

"Oh yeah, you wanna fight?" Yusuke's ears perked up. "Listen loverboy, I'll tell you right now that hag, Baka-chan, ain't worth getting beat up by me."

"Yusuke, you shouldn't fight," My mother tried reasoning with him.

"Let them blow off their steam, Mama," I said. "The longer they argue, the more cake we get to eat in the mean time. Right, Keiko?"

"Right," Keiko smiled as she started eating the cake with me. "Yusuke has too much energy as is and I can't always keep him in check."

The two boys started running after each other. Well, Kuwabara was running after him as Yusuke taunted him saying he can't catch him. I watched at Kuwabara grabbed a branch off the ground and got into a stance, ready to fight Yusuke.

Was this his first sword? Was this foreshadowing his eventual Spirit Sword?

* * *

_This was a really quick chapter. The idea of it came suddenly so I thought I would share._


	5. Botan's Oar

**Chapter 4: Botan's Oar**

A few weeks after my birthday party I came home to find a pot full of white camellias with a kind looking Shuichi sitting on the table with a cup of tea at hand. I didn't always see him, only on the rare occasion that I run into him when he comes to my mother's flower shop. But never the less, each year since I first met him he would stop by around my birthday and give me a plant. Potted of course, because he figured out that I like to take care of them and keep them growing.

"Your mother let me in," he explained. "She's in the garden."

"I was wondering when I would see you again," I smiled as I sat down beside him. "White camellias this year, huh?"

"Mother insisted," Shuichi spoke with an unusual grace for a 10 year old. "She kept saying 'Shuichi! We've never given her Tsubaki! Let's do it this year, Tsubaki for Tsubaki' and I couldn't say no."

"You _never_ say no to your mother. I'm not even sure you would even know how to say it to her if you tried," I laughed. "Thank you, they're beautiful and surprising, a lot of florist have been asking my mother about camellias, apparently they aren't blooming so well this year."

"It's true, that's why these are a little late," he said softly. "They just started blooming over the weekend and I didn't have time to drop them off."

"That's okay," I replied back. This was rare. The previous years he would barely step foot into the porch let along come inside for tea and a conversation. After a beat I asked, "Do you want to come in to see the ones from previous years?"

He followed me toward the greenhouse in the back. Mother saw us and gave us a quick hello before continuing on with her pride and joy, the vegetable garden.

"In truth I was hoping to at least provide you with Middlemist Camellias to give you a rarity but unfortunately I couldn't find any stores that would be able to supply the seeds on time."

"It's okay, the ones you grew will reminded me that I'm a well liked person, it's a great confidence booster!" It was hard to believe that I was having a conversation like this with Kurama. His mask was really good, almost too good to believe that this boy was once a thousand year old fox spirit who specialized in stealing treasured goods and now he was having a hard time obtaining a flower.

"I see the sunflowers I gave you last year are still growing," he said with approval.

"That was an amazing year, I was so surprised to find potted sunflowers in April, you're a real magician," I complimented. "The daisies and sweetpeas from the year before are also started to bloom again."

"You and your mother have such green thumbs," he said impressed. "You've kept these plants alive for years."

"Well you're quite the gardener too," I replied. "How's your mother been? Still working a lot?"

"Yes, she just started at a new company and she seems to like it a lot."

"That's wonderful, you two should come over for dinner one day. I haven't seen Shiori-oba in such a long time."

I wonder if that's the company where she'll eventually meet her Shuichi's future stepfather. Too soon to tell I supposed.

"Sorry we couldn't go to your birthday party again this year," he apologized.

"It's okay, I know it's always a busy time for you since your school starts earlier than mine. There's always next year."

Besides, as far as I'm concerned Kurama can't meet Yusuke yet. It's one thing for Yusuke and Kuwabara to meet earlier than intended, they at least knew of each other before the start of the story. I felt like there was a bit more leeway there. But with Kurama, that was harder to justify. It was clear that Yusuke had no idea about him before he was trying to find the Spirit World Artifacts. He and Yusuke meeting early was definitely a no if I remember my time travel/reincarnation/supernatural rules that I made up correctly.

"Yeah, maybe," His eyes shifted and his mouth started to curve downward. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go for it," I said as I handed him a spray can of water. "But while we're in here, mind helping me with the plants?"

He took the bottle from my hand, "What would you do if you wanted to go somewhere but your mother wouldn't want you to go?"

If I remember correctly from the anime, Kurama was expecting his power to begin to manifest around the age of ten years old. Could he be asking me about that?

"Like a different middle school from the one she wants you to go to?"

"Sort of."

Depending on what I said, I could either make or break the entire canon. I paused for a moment and then answered, "I guess I would just go with where I could flourish the most."

"Flourish?" he asked again.

"Yeah, like these plants. A lot of these don't grow naturally in Japan, or even during this season. It's a different place from where they were born but my mother and I are trying to give it a good environment to grow in. We're trying to let them flourish."

"But some plants if they're placed into a new area could be seen as foreign invader. Like weeds," His voice grew deeper and I knew that this was Kurama speaking now despite trying to keep with the gardening motif.

"Well yes, I guess that's always a risk with transporting seeds but Cherry Blossoms aren't native to the United States but Japan gave them hundreds of trees for them to display in Washington, DC as a peace offering and sign of friendship and three years later the United States gave Japan Dogwood trees in return. And that's from two countries that fought against each other."

"That could be true," he said softly as Kurama slowly made his way back into Shuichi.

It was strange talking to him. The way we spoke to each other wasn't the way I would speak to other people my age. We were supposed to be ten. Ten year olds, even if they grew up in flower shops, shouldn't have this much knowledge on their meanings and origins. A ten year old wouldn't able to put in so much insight into a metaphorical garden. What's even crazier is that there's no technology so these plants aren't just one search engine away, these are books and books of knowledge that shouldn't be easy to memorize.

And yet here we are.

It was kind of comforting for me. I didn't have to be a dopey kid with him like everyone else in class. I spent years in that hospital room researching and learning about plants and I wanted to be able to share. It almost seemed like he did too. He wanted to show off his knowledge and he didn't want to be taken for an idiot like most other children would be.

But he's smart. He must think it's strange for me to know so much. To have so much insight on the world when I'm still a child.

Does he choose to ignore it or is this a trap?

He left soon after asking his question and I was left to help my mother with the garden. I wonder if I said too much. I know my classes haven't discussed the first Japanese/American peace treaty and even if we had it's hard to say how much a ten year old would be able to recall or understand from the lesson.

Should I quit while I was ahead? Maybe next time I see him I can throw in a slip up. Say some random wrong fact and relieve myself of any possible suspicions. But then again, would Kurama even consider a ten year old to be a worthy opponent at this chest? Maybe his interactions with me are _Shuichi_ trying to reach out?

"Sweetheart, can you take over the seeding? I want to grab more pots and stakes from the shed," my mother called out.

"Don't worry, Mama, I can go get the pots."

"Okay, but be careful, they're a little high up."

The shed we had was a mess, especially when it was Spring and Summer when mother and I were getting more and more supplies for the garden. Not only did we have equipment for the flower shop but when the warmer months come along mother makes it her personal mission to make sure we would never have to go without fresh vegetables.

I walked to the very back where we kept all of our extra stakes and pots. Using the crate as a make shift step stool I reached upwards when suddenly I felt myself tipping backwards.

Oh no…

* * *

I opened my eyes and felt nothing wrong. That was a good sign right? I felt a little bit out of it, no doubt from falling and when I checked my surroundings I saw the familiar white walls of the hospital.

Oh great.

I don't mind hospitals, I've been visiting and volunteering here since I was a child but this time I felt like a patient. And that was one feeling from my last life that I had hoped I would never have to feel again here.

"Hi!" I heard a perky voice from above me and saw a face I hoped I would never, ever, _ever_ have to see. "I'm Botan!"

"Did I…did I die?" I asked in a panicked.

I looked down and saw my body laying still and I suddenly felt myself floating upwards.

"Oh no! Don't freak out now. You are astral projecting. Most humans have a hard time separating their spirit self from their bodies but seems like you were literally knocked out of yours!" Botan laughed.

"So…I'm not dead? Definitely not dead? You're sure?" I asked wanting to make sure.

"Bingo! And I am _so_ glad this happened to you!" Botan laughed.

"Well that makes one of us…" I stated. "So you're a….ghost?"

I already knew who she was. In fact, out of all the characters I've met so far Botan was the most like her animated version. She was cheerful and just as colorful as she looked in the Anime.

"Sort of, I'm a Ferry Woman! Well I'm a Ferry Woman in training," She smiles. "So lucky for you, I don't go collect dead souls, I just lead souls that have left their bodies temporarily."

"But my body is right below me, don't I just have to, you know, lay back down?"

"Nope, your presence has been requested by Master Koenma in the main office, so my job is to guide you there and guide you back. So hop on!" She said pointing to the end of her oar. "And there's no need to pretend, Spirit World is already aware of your _unique_ situation."

"Oh." Well I supposed that makes things easier for me. I hopped onto Botan's oar.

Spirit World was larger than I could've ever pictured but it also seemed much emptier. There were multiple paths and from what I could see they either led to the River Styx or to the Gateway of Decision. Further off in the distance I saw clouds floating towards different buildings and a part of me started wondering if Dragon Ball was somehow connected to this world.

No, don't go there, Tsubaki. One continuity is enough to worry about.

"Now which way was it again?" Botan was asking. "Sorry, I'm still a little new to this..hehe.."

I sighed; I guess even if this is my new reality some anime qualities will still come through, "I think it's that way…towards that building."

"Bingo! Ding, ding ding! Correct!" She cheers as she sped faster towards the building.

When we arrived the ogres were busy hustling and bustling, some people dying too soon, some too late. It sounded like a conference about the pros and cons of modern day medicine and how it affects their daily work had just gotten out. Yusuke wasn't kidding when he said it was like the stock exchange in here.

Botan rang the doorbell and Jorge's voice came through saying he was opening the gate and to bring me to Koenma. Jorge smiled and offered me a cup of tea, much appreciated, and Koenma was in his toddler form sitting on the desk stamping papers. I can see why Yusuke thought it was ridiculous when he first met Koenma, but then again I'm in a ten year old body at the moment, so who am I to judge.

"Ah is this the one?" He asked looking up and moving his pile of papers. "I'm Koenma, son of King Enma and the guy currently in charge of stamping a never ending pile of paperwork. But you already knew that."

"And I'm Tsubaki Yoshino, but you already knew that?" I asked unsure of what the exact plot line of my story was going to be.

"Botan, Jorge, leave us alone for a moment," He said with a commanding tone you wouldn't expect to come from a toddler. After the two left Koenma turned back to me and changed into a new form. A child like form to match my 10 year old body. His hair was similar to his teenaged form but his height was only an inch or so taller than I was. He lost his chubby cheeks but still retained a youthful glow to himself. "Do you know what happened to you?"

"Um…reincarnation?" I asked, still unsure of how else to explain it. "Listen if I'm not supposed to be Tsubaki, I _promise_ you that I didn't do it on purpose. I don't even know how it happened. One moment I was laying on the hospital bed, ready to die and then I was…this…I was Tsubaki. I didn't plan on it."

"I know, I planned it," Koenma stated. "I need your help."

"You need _my_ help? So you forcibly reincarnated me into a world full of dangerous bad guys without even asking me?"

"Weren't you the one who died regretting they never had the chance to have adventure?" Koenma retorted. "The Spirit World connects multiple realms throughout the universe and when I realized that this pocket of the multiverse was in danger I needed the help of someone who could help guide me."

"Guide you? But you're Koenma, your pacifier has more power contained inside than I do in my entire body."

"But I don't know what's to come, and looking into the future is forbidden," He reasoned.

"Which is why you needed someone who already knows what should happen."

"Yes, key word being _should_," He stated. "I suspect strange actions being taken behind the scenes, and I'm not so sure that demons are to blame like what my father is telling everyone. However, I have no proof of it."

"So do you want me to tell you where to find it?"

"No that is also against the rules, which is why I need you as a guide. You're the only one that has free will in this world and can cause change to occur. I'm sure you must've already noticed your affect on those around you. You know this world better than I do, you must be able to see it."

"Well yes, but how exactly am I supposed to guide you if I can't tell you what to do? What exactly does guiding mean and what if my 'guide' is all wrong and everything gets ruined?"

"Well that's just a risk that we'll have to take. As is we've already been seeing a weakening of the Makai Barrier and have noticed demons being able to pass through much easier than what should be possible," he handed me a folder and is it was a picture of Kurama.

"Youko Kurama, as I'm sure you're aware. A powerful demon like him, even if he was weakened by a hunter, shouldn't have been able to pass through so easily and what else is that his spirit should have been dealt with already but no one has been making any attempts."

"You think someone _let_ him pass through?" I was concerned, they never did explain how so little information about Kurama was kept. I mean, he had been wearing his school uniform all throughout the first season and yet they hadn't known he was living as a human when he stole the Artifacts of Darkness. Was someone trying to manipulate him?

"I think someone is plotting something, and until we have solid proof I can't do anything about it. And according to the rules you can't just tell me where to go to find the proof."

"There are rules? Can I get some sort of rulebook here so I don't mess up the universe?"

"The rules are…made up. By me, but it makes sense, right?"

"If _you_ made up the rules then why can't _you_ know?"

"Well because it's _my_ life, I can't risk losing it. Then where will our paths lead? It's obvious I'd be a main character since this is my plan to begin with. Besides with my father on my case all the time it'd be easy for him to figure out that I'm plotting against him. That's why even if I'm caught I won't be able to tell him anything because I won't _know_ anything."

I didn't have the heart to tell him that a lot of his character was used as comedic relief, but he did make a good point. Without him Yusuke wouldn't be able to come back to life.

"I'll help as much as I can, but I just need one question answered," I stated. I trusted Koenma, that much I was sure of. He may have made some questionable choices but in the end he was always on Yusuke's side.

His eyes narrowed, no doubt preparing himself for whatever question I was about to ask.

"Who is Tsubaki? Who's body did I end up in? Who's soul didn't get a chance to live?" My throat felt dry after asking the question I'd been asking myself for my entire second life.

He took a sigh of relief, "It happens occasionally. Sometimes a soul doesn't agree with the body it's placed in. It's similar to an organ donation, if the body is rejecting its soul the soul is removed and if the body is lucky a new soul makes it in time to live in it."

"Did you _make_ the soul leave?"

"The baby's body was very weak due to a poor connection with the soul. Both the body and the soul were fighting against each other so we may have helped to severe their connection. But don't worry, we were able to relocate the soul to a more suitable host."

He tapped on the screen and showed me an imagine of a 10 year old boy playing video games with his older brother, "See? That was supposed to be Tsubaki, turns out the soul was happier living as a male, so I'm glad we were able to give it a good match."

It was a relief to see an image of the young boy happy on the screen.

"That's why a lot of your core personality is still in tact, most of your differences would be your physical abilities, which is why you're much healthier in this life than your previous. You may also start to see differences in your spiritual energy now that we've made contact, but it'll take time for the energy to manifest itself as something noticeable."

"So what now?" I asked.

"That is up to you. Whatever happens now is in your hands," He called for Botan to come back into the room. "I will give you access to Botan. She's one of our newer Ferry Woman so she won't be as noticeable to my father. Use this communicator for emergencies. And take this pendant. It'll protect you in case any bad spirits or demons come near you and it'll act as a focal point for your spirit energy and make it easier for you to harness."

He handed me a chain necklace with a single pearl. The moment I touched it I felt my energy siphon into it and the color of the bead seemed to change ever so slightly from a pure white pearl to a slightly pinkish hue.

"The color of the necklace can indicate different things. Your emotions, your spirit energy, it can even turn black if you end up in a dangerous situation. You're the only one who'd have the proper amount of intuition to interpret what it means."

* * *

I woke up back in my body feeling right as rain. My father kept commenting on how hardheaded I must be to have no sign of a concussion after falling in the shed. Of course, I knew the truth that it was because Botan did me a solid and healed me up to make sure I had no aches, pains or nasty concussions.

Thankfully I was quickly discharged after waking up. I felt like I had already served all my hospital time in my previous life and one more second laying on that bed attached to a heart monitor and saline drip and I'd start gnawing my arm off.

Sitting in my father's car, staring out the window got me to start thinking, "Mama, papa, what was I like as a baby?"

"Oh you were cute as a button," my mother started praising. "You were so adventurous and active as a child, all you wanted to do was play. I think you were running before you even started walking."

"She was quite the crier though, remember? I'll never forget the first few weeks we had you. You were born prematurely so you weren't the healthiest when you came out and boy did you cry," my father reminisced.

"Really? I didn't know I was a sick baby." This is starting to line up with what Koenma was telling me.

"Oh yeah, you had a fever almost immediately out of the womb. For a while we were worried but then all of a sudden, as if it were overnight your health drastically improved and in less than a week we were able to take you home."

"All of the nurses were so sad to see you go home, so many of them adored you. That's why we named you Tsubaki, everyone who met you instantly loved you," My mother smiled.

Seeing her smiling face gave me such a warm feeling inside. Maybe I really was meant to be their 'lucky flower'.


	6. Human Nature

**Chapter 5: Human Nature**

* * *

_I was dreaming._

_I knew which night this was. I was 19 years old and I was being driven home from my date by my boyfriend of the last six months. He was incredibly sweet and a perfect gentleman. We had been paired up together for our chemistry lab last year, which resulted in plenty of puns and jokes, and our friends had only just recently managed to convince us to start dating._

_"Can't I get even a little hint on what you want for your birthday?" He smiled as his hand reached out for mine._

_"I already told you, I don't need anything. Let's just go out with our friends," I smiled as his thumb lovingly traced my fingers._

_"Alright, we can go out to that club you liked before" he suggested. "The one where we had our first kiss."_

_That was my last good day._

_The birthday celebration never happened. I found out that my cancer had returned and I didn't really want to celebrate. The dream sequence spread out to doctors visit after doctors visit and the last episode of Yu Yu Hakusho that I watched had been the one with Kurama's mother._

* * *

"Hey, Keiko! Do you want to go see a psychic with me? We can even go to a cake shop afterwards." I asked while eating lunch on the roof of our middle school.

"A psychic?" She thought for a moment before taking a bite of her lunch. "Sure, that sounds fun, but why do you want to go to a psychic?"

"I saw a flier for it at the town center the other day and I thought it might be interesting and I saw it was close to that cake shop we tried last month." The truth was that Botan had told me last week that spirit world was seeing a large amount of psychic energies surrounding the city and it made me curious.

"Psychics are so lame, who even believes in that sort of bullshit? It's just some lame ass trying to hassle a couple of idiots like you two," Yusuke complained as he dug into the lunch Keiko made for him. The lunches were Keiko's most recent attempt to get Yusuke to come to school more. "Idiots, like Tsubaka, over there."

"Tsu-ba-KI, you dumbass," I retorted back.

"Tsu-ba-KA," he sniggered back lifting up his middle finger towards me.

"You can come with us if you don't want to be lonely," I stated knowing that most of his attitude is because he most likely wanted to hang out with Keiko. After knowing him for so long I'd bet money that he'll make fun of the idea and then somehow join us later on and Keiko and I will end up paying for his slice of cake.

"As if I'd ever show up to that stupid thing," Yusuke shouted back.

"Then don't come, Yusuke," Keiko said plainly. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that you don't have to shout uselessly?"

"Don't do this. Don't do that," Yusuke said using his best Keiko imitation. "You're always nagging me about everything."

* * *

"Tsubaki-chan, which room do the daffodils go to?" One of the hospital volunteers, Maya, asked. When I turned 12 I became one of the head volunteers at my father's hospital. My mother piloted the program and I was her deputy. On Sundays I would bring over a truckload of flowers and the other volunteers and I would distribute them.

"Those go to Minato-san," I answered. Maya was about a year older than me and has easily become one of my closest friends in this program. She had a light psychic inclination and she went to Kurama's middle school. Not that either of them have told me. She was the girl from the Yu Yu Hakusho OVA. The one that will eventually be captured and lead to Kurama and Hiei's first team up.

It took me a while to recognize her, she wasn't a stand out character and she didn't make any lasting impressions or appear anywhere outside of that half episode. But there was one day when she mentioned liking a boy in her class, as she described him more, the more the puzzle pieces lined up.

"Hey, did you hear about a psychic downtown?" Maya asked.

"Yeah, my friend, Keiko and I are going after I finish here," I answered with excitement. "Do you want to join us? We're also getting cake after."

"I don't want to intrude," she said politely.

"You wouldn't be intruding," I replied. "I think you and Keiko would get along really well and you've told me before that you're interested in psychics. Besides, Keiko is a bit of a nonbeliever so it'll be easier to convince her with another friend on my side."

"Well if it really isn't any trouble," she answered. "It sounds like it'll be real –"

Maya-chan stopped in her tracks, her face turning a slight shade of pink. I looked at the direction she was facing and saw Kurama. His hair was shorter than I last remembered it being, must've just gotten a haircut for school and he was wearing what looked like a formal black school uniform.

"Do you want to speak with Shuichi-kun?" I asked knowing that her answer would be a yes.

"You know Minamino-san?"

"Our mothers are friends and he likes to shop at our flower shop sometimes. I've known him since I was young." It was also concerning seeing him standing in the hospital. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach letting me know that this wasn't going to be a good day for him. Was my dream a sign that this day was happening for Kurama?

"Shuichi-kun," I called out.

"Ah, Yoshino-san," He replied trying to place a smile on his face.

"Tsubaki. We go through this every time I see you, we've known each other since we were 7, call me by my first name." Over the years I've struggled with what to call him. Using just his last name felt too stiff, especially considering some of the random conversations he'll have with me over the years.

"Yes, yes," he chuckled politely. "Oh and Kitajima-san. I didn't know you two were friends."

"She's one of my mother's volunteers," I explained.

"What about you, Minamino-san, why are you here today?" Maya-chan bravely inquired with a slight blush on her face.

"My mother wasn't feeling well this morning so she's being evaluated to check for illness," he was trying to keep thing light but I could hear the worried undertones in his speech.

"I hope she feels better soon, a lot of people have been coming down with the flu recently," Maya-chan replied with a little more confidence. It was surprising seeing her like this. Over the last few weeks volunteering with her she's been an endless source of energy and excitement. I supposed it's to be expected around our age group.

"Me too, Kitajima-san," he smiled politely, probably making Maya's heart melt in the process. "Are you on your deliveries today? Those daffodils look beautiful."

"Thank you, I grew these myself," I puffed out my chest in pride.

"I can tell, your plants always look happy when I see them."

"Here, give some to your mother," I said as I grabbed a few of our extra flowers that we hadn't used for the bouquets earlier, handful of daffodils, some white camellias and some pink carnations tossed together and wrapped in a piece of newspaper. "Oh! I have an extra vase in my father's office; I'll go grab it for your mother. Maya-chan, I'll be right back."

* * *

I wasn't sure how Maya Kitajima fit into the story. She only had two appearances in the manga, one was during a one shot when she was captured by Yatsude and another where she showed up in Kurama's memories when Uraurashima was regressing Kurama's age. It's been debated in the fandom how much she meant to Shuichi, theories have ranged from first loves, possible loves, first human connection outside of his mother and as throw in that Togashi used to fill in a panel. Either way, I'm sure it wouldn't do any harm in giving them some alone time. From what I remember, Maya was pretty comfortable calling out to Kurama in class even though he didn't associate himself too much with the other students. When that adventure does unfold perhaps it'll be good if the two of them get to know each other now as opposed to later on.

The hairs on the back of my head started to tingle slightly, my surroundings grayed out and the only source of color I could see was Botan in her ever cheery disposition.

"Botan! What are you doing here?" I made a quick move to check the entry way hoping Kurama wasn't close enough to be able to sense her presence. "You can't be here right now, Kurama is downstairs. He might sense you."

"Oh no!" Botan panicked for a moment. "I just needed to give you this file about the psychic you'll be visiting. Give me a report later on and we can dispatch someone to handle the situation once you've scoped out the area."

She left as quickly as she came. Pop in; pop out, as per usual. I wanted to look at the file but I knew better than to look in public. I slipped it into the jacket I was wear and when I turned I saw Kurama and Maya at the door.

"Oh um…" had they seen? I tried to keep myself composed and held up the vase in my hand. "I have the vase! Something wrong?"

"Minamino-san just kind of jolted and came upstairs saying you might need help," Maya-chan answered. So she definitely didn't sense anything.

"I think I'm perfectly capable of grabbing a vase by myself," I tutted towards Kurama.

He eyed the room for a moment before composing himself again, "Yes, I supposed you are. Sorry I just thought that something might have happened when you took a while. Was someone else just here?"

"Nope, just me,"I smiled at him and replied. "Don't worry I'm right as rain here. Just wanted to find the right vase for your mother." I filled up the vase using a pitcher of water my father had in his office and placed the makeshift bouquet into it. I tied a ribbon onto the vase, just below the rim and handed it back to Shuichi.

* * *

"I can't believe we never put two and two together. I had no idea you've known Minamino-san for so long!" Maya said as we were getting onto the train. "So tell me everything!"

"Everything? Like what, I honestly don't know much about him," I lied trying to evade her questions.

"Like, has he had any girlfriends before? What's his family like? How did you manage to start calling him by his first name?" She was so excited. If she was back in my world there was no doubt she would be a Kurama fangirl.

"I've known him since I was young so it only felt normal calling him Shuichi. Especially since both my parents call him Shuichi. Besides, his last name is such a mouthful," I joked. Not only that but my Americanism when it came to names stuck around. For me it always felt natural calling my friends by their first names rather than their last names. Of course I wasn't going to explain that to her. "But there really isn't much to him. He's quiet, polite and smart. He doesn't share very much about himself so sorry but I won't be much help."

"Well that's disappointing," she sighed clearly hoping I could give her more insight to him.

"But he's really nice, you should just talk to him more and get to know him that way," I replied earnestly.

"We should've invited him to the psychic with us."

"He probably would've said no. He's a real mama's boy; he won't leave her until he knows she's better. But we can still enjoy our day," The train got to my stop and I hopped off waving goodbye to Maya.

"See you later!" She called out.

* * *

I didn't have much time to read the file Botan gave me at the hospital earlier. I had to hurriedly glaze through the folder before Keiko arrived at my door happy and excited as always. We spent much of the train ride heading towards downtown talking about how she was 'off Yusuke duty' for the time being, which pretty much meant she was worried he was getting into fights but was trying to hide it. There was no doubt in my mind that Yusuke was going to come walking by us at some point today pretending he had no idea what our plans were.

Keiko was regaling me with her stories about Yusuke and I was doing my best to listen but my mind kept wandering back to the file I had been given. I wasn't able to speak to Botan because of Kurama but from the folder it looked like this was sent to me directly by Koenma. He wanted a layout of the building that the psychic is working at. Simple enough. We got off the platform and tried to search for Maya-chan.

"Ah there she is. Maya-chan!" I waved her over and made quick introductions between her and Keiko.

"It's nice to meet you, Tsubaki-chan has told me so much about you, Yukimura-san," she bowed.

"Please, call me Keiko," Keiko smiled.

"Then call me Maya, Keiko-san,"

The three of us made our way to the psychic's building. According to the fliers it was a full on event, there would be psychics and magic tricks. If you asked me it seemed too gimmicky to be any interest to Spirit World but I supposed it could be used as a cover up.

"You're kind of quiet today, Tsubaki," Keiko pointed out and proceeded to laugh. "It's pretty rare of you. I'm so used to you and Yusuke screaming and shouting at each other, seeing you so quiet is strange."

"You do seem pretty tense today," Maya agreed.

"I just have a lot on my mind today," I said trying my best to avoid the two of them and their piercing interrogation.

"Was it because of Minamino-san's mother?" Maya tried guessing. "He was definitely worried earlier at the hospital."

"Minamino? Is that the one your mother says brings you flowers?" Keiko tried piecing the puzzle together. She was probably confused since she's known a lot of my friends. Having grown up together we've had a similar circle of friends so it probably is strange for her to not recognize a name right away.

"He brings you flowers?" Maya-chan dramatically sighed. "Don't tell me you two like each other!"

My hand instinctively went to massage my temples, "We don't like each other! It's a present from _his mother_ not from him. Besides, I'm not even sure he fully understands the idea of love and like let alone be capable of having a crush."

"Couldn't you say the same thing about yourself?" Keiko teased. "I've never known you to have a crush unless you're just really good at keeping things secret from your _best friend._"

"I just haven't met anyone crush worthy yet," I replied back.

"Hmm…maybe I can change that, I'm sure I can find you a crush in no time" Maya laughed beside me.

One thing was consistent between my previous life and my current life. The best way to distract preteen girls was to bring about the topic of boys. Keiko and Maya almost immediately went on to complain about the two boys who've captured their hearts in recent years.

* * *

The building was…underwhelming to say the least. It looked like a typical office building, nothing fancy. Just a big, plain white building located on some obscure corner of the shopping district. There was a large crowd already plastered in line waiting for the opening. Maya, eager as always, went straight for the line, doing her best to dodge past the other overly keen enthusiasts. Keiko and I made our way over to her when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I searched the crowd in a slight panic trying to gage those around me. My hand reached for my pearl, hoping I'd be able to figure out the power held within it. Ever since Koenma gave me this necklace, I've felt my psychic abilities slowly grow. It was faint at first, a tingle up my spine when I walked past a cemetery or the occasional hair sticking up when I walk down a really cold hallway. In recent years I've been able to gage people who have some sort of psychic ability. I've felt it grow in Kuwabara every time I saw him and I felt it from Maya Kitajima when I first met her at the volunteering program.

But this felt different.

This felt stronger, more intimidating. I moved away from Tsubaki and Keiko trying to find the source of the power when a hand reached for my shoulder inciting an incredible shiver to move up and down my spine.

"Tsubaki!" Relief flooded me when I realized the source of the familiar voice.

"Kuwa-chan!" I relaxed seeing the calm and happy demeanor that was Kuwabara; the strongest human on the show and the one with the best psychic instinct in the entire group. If he was all smiles then the feeling I had earlier couldn't have been as bad as I feared.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Kuwabara smiled and chuckled. "Why did you look all weird and worried earlier?"

"Hey, tell me, Kuwabara," I whispered closer to him so no one around us would hear. "You still have your…tickle, right?"

"Yeah I do, but it comes and goes. My sister's is still stronger than mine by a long shot."

"You didn't happen to get any tickling sensations here did you?"

"Hmm," He paused trying to feel his surroundings, "No I don't think so. I don't really feel anything right now. Earlier there was s light tingly feeling but it disappeared pretty quickly."

"I thought so." That means someone strong was here but is most likely concealing their power. Does that mean that they know that someone is watching?

"Tsubaki! You ran away so quickly, I almost couldn't follow you." Keiko called out. "Kuwabara?"

"Keiko-chan. Yo!" Kuwabara smiled. "Are you guys here for the psychic too?"

"Yeah, we saw the flier for it and thought it sounded interesting. We came here with one of Tsubaki's friends too, do you want to join us?"

Kuwabara and I followed after Keiko as she led us back toward Maya.

* * *

Kuwabara took no time at all to try to get to know Maya. Maya didn't seem phased at all and the two were all smiles reveling in how they both felt a connection to the psychic world. Keiko wasn't too sure about what Maya and Kuwabara were saying. She was definitely skeptical, but I'm sure that'll change eventually. She never had any psychic abilities in the anime but she did have a sort of sixth sense when it came to Yusuke. Maybe if I keep her interested it can help in the future, make everything less scary for her?

We were getting close to the front when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck start to tingle again. I looked at Kuwabara who didn't seem to notice anything. Was it just my imagination?

"Tsubaki, let's go. We're next!" Maya said pulling me out of my thoughts. "Do you guys want to do a group reading? Or individual?"

"We can do a group reading, it'll be fun!" Keiko suggested.

"Yeah, and that way I'll be less freaked out about any tickle sensations I might get while I'm in there," Kuwabara nodded in agreement.

We all sat around the round table across from the psychic, Madame Yu. She was younger than I expected. She wasn't wearing a gimmicky outfit like I had expected and her presence was exuding a calming sensation. I didn't feel any malicious intent and judging from the hairs on my arms she did have some inkling towards being spiritual.

"What an interesting group of children," she spoke as she shuffled her deck of tarot cards. "Who wants to go first?"

We all looked at each other and when no one answered, Maya took the reigns. Madam Yu placed the deck in front of Maya and told her to split it into three sections and place them on top of each other again. Maya then chose 5 cards from the deck and laid them out in front of us.

"Knight of cups, do you have a boyfriend at the moment? Or maybe just someone you're interested in?" She asked.

"Yes," she blushed clearly thinking about Kurama. Or Shuichi to her.

"This is interesting because this card looks like it's reversed. It isn't necessarily bad but it could be a warning to tread lightly. It seems like you're an idealist and a romantic at heart, and while those are great qualities it doesn't always represent the same for the person you're pursuing. Your second card, The Fool," She paused when she noticed Maya hanging her head in defeat.

She chuckled lightly, "Don't be discouraged, child. This doesn't have to be a bad card. You pulled it in its upright form, which just means you're an innocent girl. You're a free spirit so you take things lightly. If you hold onto that feeling you'll be able to overcome adversity and perhaps find a new beginning that you weren't necessarily looking for but could turn out to be good."

She wasn't wrong, after Kurama erases her memories she is going to have a new beginning, and although we don't know anything about it, I'm sure it'd be a lot less dangerous compared to going to the dark tournament and dealing with invisible demon insects like what Keiko will have to endure.

"Eight of Cups, I see. It looks like you'll have to come to terms with something in about eight months times. You may have to walk away from a dream of yours or leave a dangerous situation but that is also a good indication that this could be the start of your new beginning."

Eight months? Is that how long it'll be before Kurama and Hiei first meets? That soon? I wasn't expecting it to be at least a full year from today.

"The World and The Sun," She smiled. "That's a very food combination to pull as your last two cards. It shows fulfillment and finding closure with a chapter in your life and then finding joy and success with it. Overall, I think you'll be very satisfied once you get through the next few months of self doubt and you'll come out better and stronger at the end of it."

"Thank you very much!" Maya said happy to hear the last few words.

"You're very welcome," she smiled. "Now how about the skeptical one of the group next?" She looked at Keiko and handed her the deck of cards.

"I wouldn't say I'm a skeptic," she smiled. "I just like facts." But she did as she was told. She split the deck into three parts, placed them on top of each other again and then chose 5 cards.

"The Wheel of Fortune," Madame Yu spoke. "You are tied by fate. Within the next few years there are big changes that will be headed your way. You'll feel like you have no control over your life but in the end everything is tied to fate so don't fight it."

"Do you have a strong male figure in your life?" She asked Keiko when she looked at the second card, The Devil.

"My father?" She replied back in a question.

"No, it's someone else," She said trying to read the cards. "Maybe a brother? A close friend you've known your whole life?"

"She must be talking about Urameshi," Kuwabara suggested.

Keiko sighed and replied back, "Of course he gets brought up with The Devil."

I couldn't help but laugh beside her, "well isn't that just fitting?"

"I see, is he a boyfriend, maybe?" Madame Yu inquired.

"No, we've been best friends since we were five," Keiko explained.

"I see, and is he the playful type with you? Makes a lot of jokes, likes to mess around?" After Keiko nodded in confirmation, Madame Yu continued on. "It looks like you like to keep him under control, but just know that there are things about him that can't and _shouldn't_ be controlled. If you give him the freedom to grow into his own you'll be able to help unlock his true power and help him to overcome obstacles in his life. You've also pulled out the Strength card, which shows that your inner strength and compassion will be able to overcome any obstacles the two of you will face."

Keiko nodded, looking like she was getting more and more into her reading. She was soaking in everything Madame Yu was saying to her.

"The Empress," Madame Yu smiled. "You are his empress. He sees the nurturing side of you and loves and appreciates that. You are his goddess and he'll do anything for you, and followed by The Lovers. You two are young but your union is strong so hold onto each other."

"Sounds like a pretty good reading, Keiko-chan. Your love life definitely sounds better than mine," Maya commented beside her.

"But you get success and joy at the end, I get a _devil_," Keiko pointed out. "I'm gonna slap him in the face later for making me be tied to him for the rest of our life."

I laughed, "are you sure the devil you pulled wasn't actually talking about _you_, Keiko. Sounds like Yusuke is gonna be the one who should worry."

Madame Yu snickered along with the rest of us and then slowly placed her deck in front of Kuwabara, "Okay, young man. You're up next."

Kuwabara gulped but followed suit and chose his five cards.

"I think you're a very interesting one," Madame Yu stated. "The Magician, you have a very strong willpower. You have a strong desire to love and protect those around you. You have a tendency to get knocked down but you never give up. If you focus your strengths hard enough they'll be able to manifest into something very strong."

This psychic was super accurate with Kuwabara's character and she was even able to describe his future weapon of choice.

"The Queen of Cups," Madame Yu read. "The woman you need to be with in life is someone who can give you a sense of compassion, calm and comfort. You haven't met her yet. See this card?" She pointed at the throne. "The queen is placed between land and sea. The two of you together will be able to act as bridges to each other's minds. When you meet her, she will be in a difficult place in her life so give her time to understand her feelings for you. Once the two of you are able to find serenity, you'll be able to be together. Look out for water. I'm not sure why, but I feel like water may be important? Or Snow, perhaps? Ice? I'm getting images of water taking shape."

Um. What? How did she manage that level of accuracy?

"The tower," she pointed out. "Your life is going to take a major turn in the next few years. Disaster, destruction, chaos. I see it all with you. You'll have a difficult journey ahead of you, but don't resist it. There's no way for you to delay the inevitable and in the end you'll be happy with the outcome. In order to forge ahead you must be able to clear out the rubble and build on top of it. The change will happen suddenly with no warner, but once it happens you'll know what you must do."

"Death and the Hanged Man," Madame Yu said next as Kuwabara's face paled. "You don't have to fear for your life. The death card can be a symbol of change. The Hanged Man can also be an interesting one. It shows that you're the type of guy who is willing to make sacrifices, but I don't think those sacrifices will be for naught. If the sacrifices you make are worth it then you won't live with regret and the changes that come about will be for the best."

"Death, huh?" Kuwabara looked concerned.

I knew what the cards were most likely alluding to and to cheer him up I said, "Well, you get a pretty girl along the way."

"You're right!" Kuwabara said excitedly. "But apparently I haven't met her yet, I hope she's really nice and kind and will hold me hand along as we walk along the beach."

"Kuwa-chan, you're such a teddy bear," I cooed. "This girl is going to be one lucky person, I'll tell you that."

"Yeah, Kuwabara, if only Yusuke could follow suit," Keiko agreed.

"And if only my joy and success later in life can be accompanied by a guy half as sweet as you are."

Kuwabara started blushing, clearly not used to females complementing him.

"And now, for you," She smiled. "I think we have a lot to talk about."

I felt nervous, if she was going to be half as accurate with me as she was with Kuwabara she could possible blow my entire cover in this moment. But alas, I've stayed too long to turn back now. I put the deck and chose my cards.

"The Death card," She pointed out as she eyed me curiously. "It's interesting that this is the first one you pulled. That means you've started your journey with a big change recently and you're working on handling the current changes in your life. You fear change so this one has taken you for quite the head spin, but it looks like the metamorphosis you're taking on will serve a larger purpose in the scheme of things to come."

"The High Priestess," she stated as she observed the card. "You have high intuition for your age. You have an old soul that has traveled a long way." Wow. Way to come right out a say it. I listened intently to what she had to say. "The High Priestess serves as the third pillar in this world. She finds balance and believes that there is knowledge in both worlds that is needed. Don't try to repress your intuition or worry if you might have hidden motives behind your actions, your intuition is your strongest asset during your journey. You are wise beyond your years and are able to provide those around you a guiding hand. Use your inner voice to overcome your obstacles. You'll be faced with many dualities in _this_ life, but you'll be able to find the answer if you trust yourself and the friends you make along the way."

She knows. She definitely knows. My god, how could she _not_ know after spilling all of that?

"Temperance, you are hesitant about making decisions. You aren't sure if the things you do will be for the best or lead to discord. You want to take the plunge but you're concerned about the ripples that may follow. Let me tell you this, you are here for a reason. You keep searching for a meaning behind your existence, but the cards are telling me that your existence is more than what you assume it to be. The ripples you create will lead to many good things in the future."

I gulped again, engulfed in her readings.

"Six of cups," She stated looking a little surprised. "Is someone in your life sick? Or overcoming any illnesses?"

"My father works at a hospital, maybe one of the patients?"

"Perhaps," She said sounding a little unsure on how to interpret the card. "It looks like someone you know is having a difficult time, or _is_ going to have a difficult time. A lot of healing will be involved. Maybe someone you've known for a long time in your life."

"I hope it's not me," Keiko said know that she's my oldest friend. "I don't want to be sick. Maybe it's Yusuke, he's already sick in the head."

"But Yusuke isn't my friend," I pointed out, happy that she wasn't taking this reading as seriously as I was.

"Six of Cups is usually about the happiness of childhood. Two children playing together and the boy giving the girl white flowers. The two of them seek each other out for comfort and familiarity. They help each other grow and take comfort in human nature's desire to help one another. One of you will be going through an ordeal and needs to be reminded of that comfort. One of you is hurting and needs the other to get through it. Rely on one another."

"Maybe it's Minamino-san, you did give him flowers today," Maya pointed out. "And you two are childhood friends."

I sighed, "Why do you keep bringing him up today? But his mother is sick today, maybe I should check on him later." He is the only other person aside from Keiko and Yusuke that this card could apply to.

"And now for your final card," Madame Yu said getting back on topic. "Justice. You're able to see a lot of cause and effect before it plays out in real life, but make sure you have all your facts before you make your final decision. There could be a trickster in your midst so make sure you search for the truth and the clarity will follow you soon after."

I thought for a moment on who the trickster could be. I can't think of any one in the group that could constitute as a 'trickster' unless it isn't someone in our core group. Madame Yu seemed too nice to be considered the trickster and my gut was telling me that she may be more help than harm in the long run, so who could it be? Koenma did mention that he was concerned about his father so maybe someone in spirit world?

"All of you had such interesting readings," Madame Yu said as she pulled me away from my thoughts. "Please come back any time for a reading if you need some help on your journeys."

We all stood up and bowed giving her our thanks for the reading. I was almost out the door when Madame Yu reached out for my arm.

"You have an interesting fate in store for you, as do your companions. But please take this, give me a call if you ever need any help," She spoke kindly, reminding me of my mother when she teaches me how to care for plants, and she handed me her business card.

* * *

The afternoon sun was still high in the air when we left the building. Keiko and I lead the group towards the cake shop when we saw a familiar green jacket sitting at one of the tables.

"Yo!" Yusuke greeted with his hand up in a wave.

"What are you doing here, Yusuke?" Keiko eyed him funny clearly still thinking about the Devil card she had pulled earlier.

"What? Can't a guy get some coffee?" He argued back. "'Sup, Tsubaka-chan?"

"Tsu-ba-KI," I growled.

"Tsu-ba-KA," He growled back trying to pick a fight. He saw Kuwabara beside us and snickered. "I see that black eye I gave you finally healed. You want another one today?"

"Urameshi!" Kuwabara lifted his fist and the two did their usual greeting for one another.

I turned to Maya and said, "This is absolutely normal. They've been fighting like this ever since they fought during my 10th birthday."

"Yeah, just ignore them," Keiko agreed. "Let's go inside and look at the cakes they have on display."

The three of us moved past Yusuke and Kuwbara's usual rowdiness and walked inside to grab a booth. Keiko was quick to point out her favorite cakes to Maya and I was ready to start giving my opinions on the menu when the hairs on the back of my neck started tingling again like earlier.

I heard the door chime and in walked the last face I expected to see, Sensui. Of all the places, I see him at a _cake shop_? What is this Yu Yu Hakusho world. I was quick to look away. Kuwabara and Yusuke were outside; clearly their powers weren't relevant enough for Sensui to even take note. I knew better than to interact with him the way I've interacted with all of the other characters I've come across in this world. I did my best to avoid looking in his direction, trying to appear as a typical girl hanging out with her friends at a cake shop. I was eerily aware of him at the shop. I heard his footsteps as he walked towards the register, I heard him order his food and the cash register open and shut close, he spoke a quick goodbye and he walked out as if he was just another regular patron.

As soon as he left, I made an excuse to go use the restroom so I could contact Botan. She connected me over to Koenma immediately when I said it was urgent. I relayed my observations to him and told him of the encounter I had just seen. He seemed shocked that I knew who he was, but then again this is why he "hired" me to begin with.

"I see, so he's back in town," Koenma worried. "I'll have someone look into it right away. What did you think about the psychic?"

"She was very accurate with her readings. She seems like the real deal."

"I've heard that she's a strong force, whether she's good or bad, no one is really sure of though."

"I didn't sense anything malicious about her, my guess is that whatever Sensui is doing doesn't involve her directly."

"Either way, don't look too far into it. I don't know how much you know but we keep his information classified. Don't go digging into anything you shouldn't."

"Right." I replied back. Something seemed fishy. I know that in the storyline Koenma kept him a secret because he had been the one to choose Sensui and didn't want others knowing. But something else seemed off about this. Koenma should already be able to guess that I knew most of what was to happen, including Sensui, so what else is there to hide?

"Good work today, we'll be in contact as always," Koenma said before hanging up.

Was this the trickster that Madame Yu had spoken about?

* * *

This had been a long day.

The readings we had earlier left a strange feeling inside of me. Madame Yu spoke of the ripples that I could cause in this world and she said that the ripples could lead to something good if I was willing to listen to my intuition, but who am I to be able to make these decisions in this world.

I'm not a main character. I'm not even a side character. I'm just Tsubaki.

I was walking towards the hospital. It was easier to go from Downtown to the hospital and be driven home by my father rather than take the train all the way home. I was about to enter when I noticed Kurama standing outside the hospital staring at the full moon above.

"Shuichi-kun," I called out. "You're still here?"

"Yes, how was the psychic?" He asked as he tried plastering on his best human smile.

"It was fine," I said leaning against the wall next to him. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," he answered looking down now towards his feet. "My mother is sick and they aren't sure what it is."

I looked him straight in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry. I hope she recovers soon. How are you doing?"

"I don't know how to help her," he answered honestly. "She looks so fragile and I can't do anything for her."

It was hard to tell whom I was speaking to. He was speaking about how fragile humans are and yet he was also concerned about his mother.

"You can be upset, you can give yourself a moment to take everything in, Shuichi," I whispered so softly I was worried he hadn't heard my voice at all. I held his hand underneath the moonlight. I felt him squeeze only to let go a moment later and turn away.

"I'll be okay, Yoshino," he spoke bleakly.

"Shuichi," I called after him. I was sure I was about to say too much at that moment, but seeing him so lonely urged me to continue. "Don't forget to ask for help when you need it. It _is _human nature after all."

His body hesitated for a moment and then continued into the hospital.


	7. Just One More Year

**Chapter 6: Just One More Year**

* * *

_"Hey Squirt," My older brother greeted as he reached to mess up my hair. "How you feeling today?"_

_ "Same old same old. Would be better if you hadn't messed up my hair," I pouted trying to hide my real excitement at seeing him. "How was class today?"_

_ "I didn't go to school, instead I went to pick this up," he said with his signature smirk. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a plastic bag and handed it to me._

_ I opened it and saw a DVD box set of the entire Yu Yu Hakusho anime series. My 12 year old self smiled, reminded of my childhood of absorbing whatever show my older brother was into. "Why this?"_

_ "Because we're both going to stuck in the hospital for a few days so I figured we could rewatch a good old classic."_

_ "Both stuck in the hospital? Are you okay?"_

_ "Of course, I'm the happiest I've been in years," he had a face that made me suspicious. Usually a look like that resulted in me somehow doing his laundry or washing the dishes even though it wasn't my turn. After a pause for dramatic suspense he revealed his secret. "I was approved to be the donor for your bone marrow transplant!" _

* * *

Tears were rolling down my cheeks when I woke up. It's been so long since I've had a dream about my past life that shook me up so much. I loved my brother; I wish I could see him again. How was he? And what is this feeling resonating in my chest at the moment?

_Guilt_. A voice from inside me said.

And I knew it was right. Was it truly okay for me to be enjoying my life now? Was it okay to love my current family as much as I loved my old one? Was it truly okay for me to be enjoying living life as a child again?

"Tsubaki! Time for breakfast!" My mother called from the kitchen.

Time to get the day started I suppose. I quickly changed into my Sarayashiki School uniform. I would be entering 8th grade today along with Keiko and Yusuke, which meant I only had one more year until Yusuke becomes the next Spirit Detective. My stomach was in knots.

During the last two years, Koenma has been sending me on scouting missions. Surveying the area where strange events would be taking place, gaging the strengths of some energy fluctuations, and even the occasional stubborn spirit that needed help passing onto the after life. Even a few months ago I happened to be able to witness Sensui on the streets, paralyzing me with fear, but none of that came even close to what Yusuke and team were going to have to face.

Actual fights, dangerous demons, evil crime lords, death, destruction.

Yusuke won't be prepared. None of them will be, but they'll all be able to pull through, right? None of what I've done had changed the course of destiny so far off kilter that it could risk any of them losing their life? Should I have done more? Maybe convince them to start their training more? Madame Yu told me to trust my instincts. But what the flying _fuck_ were my instincts when I keep going back and forth on every damn thought that comes across my head.

"Tsubaki, what's taking you so long?" My mother asked as she came into my room. Her irritation dissipated quickly once she caught sight of me in my uniform. "My goodness, I'll never get used to seeing you in your middle school uniform. You're getting so big."

Hearing my mother's voice relaxed all the tensions in my body, "Don't be so dramatic, Mama. My uniform is still gigantic on me like it was last year."

"No, and don't even argue with me, a mother knows best. Not only that but you're officially a teenager this year," she placed her chin on her hand in contemplation. "Don't tell me your father and I will actually have to worry about you getting a boyfriend this year."

"Don't be ridiculous, mother," I couldn't help the blush forming on my cheeks. "I don't have time for any of that nonsense."

"Well, either way. You better hurry up otherwise you'll be late for opening ceremonies."

I finished putting my hair into a crown braid and rushed downstairs to meet with my parents. Father was recently promoted as one of the heads for the hospital he works at which is a great change for the coming year, and mother's flower business was getting so big that we were starting to expand to a new location and mother was working on building a second area to house all the plants she wants to start caring for.

"Are you stopping by the hospital today?" My father asked as he read the newspaper.

"Yes, I'm planning on bringing flowers for Shiori-oba today," I replied back.

"She'll love that," my mother agreed. "When I checked in on her the other day she said her labs were much better this week than last. She said that you were even considering allowing her home care rather than staying at the hospital all the time."

"Yes, but it's dependent on her labs this week," my father explained trying not to expand too much on her patient information.

"Shuichi-kun will be happy to hear that she might get to go home soon," I smiled.

"We should invite him to dinner soon," My mother contemplated. "It's probably been a while since he's had a home cooked meal. If either of you see him make sure to invite him over."

We both agreed and I quickly grabbed my bag and headed towards Yusuke's house knowing I'd be able to find Keiko there.

* * *

"Yusuke! You jerk!" Keiko yelled as the image of Yusuke ran off towards the arcade rather than joining us for school.

"Hey, Keiko, Yusuke skipping again?" I wasn't surprised. Yusuke had a tendency to skip school, but knowing him he was just doing this to get Keiko's attention.

"Why do you take this so lightly? I swear that boy is going to be kicked out before school even starts," Keiko sighs as we started walking off towards the school building.

"That won't happen. Atsuko can just call her Yakuza buddies to keep him enrolled," I laughed. "Besides, he'll show up towards the end of opening ceremonies to walk you home from school."

"He mentioned having to fight someone off this morning." There was a small bit of silence after her sentence. She was worried, no doubt about that. But this was only the beginning.

"He'll be okay," I said staring up towards the sky. "He's always okay, but if it makes you feel better, I think it's Kuwa-chan that he's fighting. It's their yearly tradition, let them have some fun while they're still young."

"You're almost as bad as he is," Keiko complained. "It's almost like you encourage him to fight."

"Well the only one who can possibly stop him from fighting would be you, therefore I stand no chance at convincing him otherwise," I teased. "Besides, he's one of the strongest people I've ever met. He can handle himself when it comes down to it."

When we arrived at school, Iwamoto was at the front trying to guide the new students towards the right direction. This was probably the only time I've ever seen him do his job. Keiko and I did our best to avoid speaking to him as we made our way towards the lockers and into our classroom.

"Keiko-chan, Tsubaki-chan, I'm so happy we're in the same class this year!" Mitsuki Kawaguchi, with her blonde hair in her usual pigtails, said as she came into the room.

"Mitsu-chan! I didn't realize we'd be in the same class again this year," I smiled.

"But did you guys hear? We have Urameshi in our room again. But at least we have the two of you with us this time around. He's less scary when you two are here," She said quietly.

Mitsuki was a nice girl. In the anime she was just the occasional side character that would show up with Keiko every now and then, but meeting her in real life gave me a bit more insight into her personality. She truly does care for Keiko. Her biggest flaw, however, was her astounding ability to listen to all of the rumors about Yusuke.

"You know, he really isn't that scary. He's a huge softy in reality," I laughed. "Whenever he comes over to my house he always insist on borrowing my pink blanket because it's the softest one in the house."

I felt a hand grab at my head and instantly put it into a noogie. "What rumors are you starting about me now?" Yusuke gritted his teeth as his knuckles continued to jokingly grind on my head. "You're ruining my reputation here."

"Yusuke!" Keiko scolded. "Why did you run away from me this morning?"

"I told ya, I had an appointment to make this morning," He said as he picked earwax out of his ear. "Kuwabara was being so fucking annoying, I had to oblige and give him my usual greeting."

"Why are you two always fighting, you've been friends for how long now?" I scoffed hearing that my earlier assumption was right.

"We ain't friends, Baka," Yusuke argued.

"Don't call girls idiot, Urameshi." Tanaka-sensei scolded as he hit Yusuke's head with the stack of papers in his hands. "Show some respect for your peers."

"Ow! Whatcha do that for?" Yusuke complained as he rubbed his head.

"I appreciate you actually showing up for the first day of school this year, now we're starting so take a seat," Tanaka scolded. Yusuke, surprisingly listened and took his place at his assigned seat.

It was good to know that Tanaka-sensei was as genuine as he was portrayed in the show. He was probably the only person aside from Keiko that had a chance at getting through to him and his thick skull.

The opening ceremony was as long and boring as usual, but as the top student I had to make a standard welcome speech. The speech was already chosen and written out ahead of time but it was still hard to concentrate when I could clearly hear Yusuke snoring and sleep talking during my speech.

"Why do you look extra annoyed today?" Yusuke asked me as we were walking out of school.

"Well, someone was sleep talking during my speech today." I said curtly – annoyance evident in my voice.

"Wow, sounds like a real jackass if he's going to sleep during the ceremonies like that," Yusuke laughed.

Keiko pulled at his ear trying to get him to take the situation seriously, "She's talking about you, dummy."

"What? Me? I would never," he laughed again. "And besides that, why have _you_ been glaring at me Keiko. It wasn't like you were the one giving the speech."

Keiko held a fist up showing her true annoyance with Yusuke, "_because_ Yusuke Urameshi, you kept shouting 'Keiko you're wearing pink panties today' during Tsubaki's speech!"

"Well are they? I didn't get a chance to peek yet today," He smirked as he tried lifting up her skirt.

"Yusuke! You jerk!"

_Thwack._

And there it is, Keiko's famous slap. I'm sure if given enough motivation that slap could deter the strongest of demons away.

"So, Tsubaki, do you want to go to café before we head home?" Keiko smiled as if nothing happened. Yusuke Urameshi, ancestral son of Raizen, reduced to tears by his crushes slap.

"I can't today," I replied with a frown. "I'm going to the hospital today."

"Volunteering today?" Keiko asked.

"No, just visiting someone. Which means you and dumbass over there get to have a fun little afternoon date," I teased.

"I can't wait until you meet someone and I can start tormenting you over it," Keiko pouted trying her best to hide the blush on her cheeks.

I laughed at her comment as I savored the moment. Walking home with my two childhood friend, neither of them dead, captured by demons, battling demons or turning into demons.

Only one more year to go.

* * *

The hospital was quieter than usual, which was never a good sign. In my previous life, when I was seven years old I complained to my nurse about how loud the hospital was and she told me to knock on wood three times and take back my words. That day I was taught that using 'the 'Q-word' was against the rules at the hospital.

"You know what place is quiet? The Cemetery and no one wants to end up there, right?" The nurse had said to me.

She was a little grouchy, and was much stricter than all of the other nurses, but she was my favorite. My old body had veins that could be considered any nurses worst nightmare but she always managed to find it on the first try and she _always_ told it to me straight. Even when I was seven years old I could count on her giving me the cold hard truth when it came to my diagnosis. During her retirement party I gave her a dozen roses – pink, yellow and peach – in full bloom and gave her my absolute thanks. Even past her retirement she continued to visit and keep in touch with my family, which meant a great deal to my family and me.

I wonder how she's doing now.

"Tsubaki-chan," One of the nurses' aids greeted. "I didn't realize your group was volunteering today."

"I'm just here visiting, is my father with a patient?" I asked despite already knowing which patient he was with.

"Yes, he's with Minamino-san," She said pointing to the room. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you knock."

Being the daughter of one of the chiefs of the hospital definitely has its perks. It wasn't visiting hours at the moment but I was given a free pass by most of the staff since a lot of them have seen me grow up in these halls.

I made my way through the familiar corridors until I found the right one. The door wasn't closed all the way, which meant it wasn't a completely private conversation my father was having with Kurama's mother. I knocked on the door and made my way inside.

"Am I interrupting?" I asked with a smile on my face.

My dad shook his head at my interruption – clearly trying to hide his small smile at seeing me, "You know, you can't just come in during non-visiting hours all the time, but we were just finishing up."

"But, Yoshino-sensei, I love visits from Tsubaki-chan," Shiori-san smiled.

"I came to drop these off for you," I presented her with a bouquet of yellow daffodil flowers. "How are you feeling today, Shiori-oba?"

"Fit as a fiddle today," she smiled kindly. She was sitting up today in her bed which was a fantastic improvement from a few months ago when she could barely sit without assistance. Today she was sitting with her back straight, her face less pale than the last time I saw her and judging from her hair it meant she had the strength for a proper shower. "Happy belated birthday, Tsubaki-chan."

"Thank you," I smiled as I replaced the flowers in her vase with the new one. "You're looking much healthier today."

"She _is_ much healthier today," my father nodded with approval. "Shirori-san gets to go home this week."

"That's wonderful news!" I was so excited. "Does Shuichi-kun know yet?"

"Do I know what yet?" Kurama asked as he made it through the door. He gave his mother a loving kiss on the cheek and his sweetest smile that he reserves only for her. "Hello, mother, Yoshino-sensei, Yoshino-san."

I rolled my eyes at his ever-polite greeting. For a demon he sure is such a goodie two shoes. I bowed my politest bow and said, "Good evening, Minamino-_senpai_."

"The bow isn't necessary," he smiled innocently. "_Yoshino-san_."

"My _mother_ is Yoshino-san, Minamino-_senpai,_" I countered.

"But I believe the two of you share the same family name, _Yoshino-san_."

"I didn't know you to be such a wisecracker, _Senpai_."

"I believe I have no idea what you're talking about, _Yoshino-san,_" His sly smile still present on his face.

I've tried over the years to have him call me by my name but at this point I feel like it's just become something he likes to tease me with. I guess even demons trapped in human bodies have to get their kick from somewhere.

My father chuckled knowing how hard I tried to get him to call me by my first name, "Shuichi-kun, I was just telling your mother some good news today."

His ears perked up and I saw the corners of his mouth twitch upwards into a small smile, "Good news?"

"I'll be able to go home for home care in a few days," His mother cheered

"That's wonderful news, Mother," He smiled. Not his typical Kurama smile, but a real, true blue, genuine smile.

"We still have to monitor her for a few more days just to be safe, but if everything goes as planned she should be fine to return home Friday afternoon," My father explained.

I wasn't sure how to dissect the scene unfolding before me. The anime never showed scenes like this. They never showed much of Kurama's home life. They showed how much he loves his mother but never the moments before, or even the moments after her recovery. He was happy here, there was no other word to describe the calm in his eyes and the genuine smile on his face. There was no doubt that _this_ version of him, the Shuichi Minamino version, was who Kurama wanted to be.

My father left soon after to make the rest of his rounds and Shuichi and I spent a few peaceful moments in Shiori's hospital room answering her questions about our days in school.

"Shuichi, have you been eating properly? You've been looking thinner than usual," Shiori commented. "What have you been eating for your lunches?"

"Don't worry, mother. I get by perfectly fine," He assured doing his best to keep his mother relaxed.

"I just worry because I know how hopeless you are of a cook," she worried.

I laughed at the comment, "Don't worry, my mother and I try to drop off food for him every week."

"I really do appreciate your family looking after us so much. I'm truly in debt to all of you. And thank you especially for looking out for Shuichi-kun through the years," She made a slight bow to me.

"We really don't do much. Your son is very capable on his own, we just bring him food every now and then," I deflected the compliment.

"But people your age are usually off finding crushes and enjoying life," she placed her head on her chin in thought. "Both of you make sure to enjoy your life while you're young and healthy. Don't just worry about me all the time."

I saw Kurama turn away, trying to play the embarrassed teen, but knowing him he was thinking of something much deeper. He was probably questioning his humanity to some level.

"No one interesting enough has peeked my interests yet when it comes to crushes," I chuckled softly, also trying to play the coy teenager. "But I'll do my best to enjoy my youth as you adults like to remind me."

Before long a nurse came in to try shooing us away, "The patient needs rest now. Why don't the two of you head home for the day? We'll take good care of her."

We nodded our heads and said our goodbyes to Shiori and my father, who was working a late shift tonight and wouldn't be headed home anytime soon. I went to the nurse's station to sign our names out as a formality when I noticed fliers of missing children signs.

"Ah, you noticed them," the nurse, Miyuki, pointed out. "There have been so many recently. A lot of people are saying they ran away but the police are saying otherwise."

"What are they saying?" I asked curiously.

"The disappearances keep happening at around the same time each month," she explained.

"They think someone is kidnapping them?" Kurama asked beside me.

"Well, they would if there were traces of it," she explained. "The police would normally find traces of it; video footage, eye witnesses, traces of a scuffle, _something_ for them to go off of. But there's been nothing."

"That's really worrisome." I looked at the pictures hanging on the wall. Something about the situation seemed strange.

"It really is, so you two be careful walking home. Shuichi-kun, you should walk her home, or at least to the train station, it's dangerous when it gets late at night," Miyuki commented.

"Don't worry I will," he agreed.

"But then who will walk _you_ home, Senpai?" I retorted.

Another rehearsed and polite chuckle came from Kurama as we proceeded to say goodbye to Miyuki-san and headed out the hospital doors.

The sun hadn't gone down yet but the sky was starting to look golden. Walking towards the train station alongside a demon would worry most but that wasn't where my concern was at the moment.

"I bet you're excited to have your mother home this weekend," I said as I reminisced of the first time I was discharged from the hospital. I remember the look on my mother's face, so happy and hopeful. It was one of the images of her that I refused to let go of.

"It's definitely a good sign," Shuichi said.

"You don't have to actually walk me home you know," I stated not wanting him to get close to the same neighborhood as Yusuke.

"I know," he replied.

"I can handle myself very well," I established.

"I know." He replied again.

I didn't know what else to say but with my mind still on the images of the missing children I decided to probe him, "What do you think happened to those children?"

"It's definitely an unfortunate situation, but if there's no traces of kidnapping then they probably ran away."

"I guess, but it just seems like something weird is going on," I replied back.

I let the silence settle between the two of us, too distracted by my thoughts to continue any conversation. And if I'm being honest, my brain was a too exhausted to have a conversation with Kurama especially. Despite knowing him for years talking to him still gave me a nerve wrecking feeling in the gut of my stomach. With Yusuke, Keiko and Kuwabara, anything I might give away about myself would easily fly over their heads, but not with Kurama. He was hundreds of years old and not someone who was easily fooled.

Just one more year to go. It's hard to believe how fast the years have flown by and I don't think I'm prepared for what's to come.

Wait. Kurama meets Hiei this year. The psychic I saw a few months ago said about 8 months for Maya-chan until she has a major change in her life. How long ago was that? Maybe three months ago? So Yatsude should be showing up some time around September. Maybe I should try to track down Madame Yu and ask if she remembers what she saw.

"Yoshino-san?" Kurama called out from behind me. He was so quiet I almost didn't remember he was behind me.

"Yes?" I answered when I snapped back into existence.

"Are you alright? You seem a little distracted."

"Just a lot to think about," I replied hoping the conversation would die down again. We were so close to the train station.

"Anything I can assist with? After all you and your family have done a lot to help mine," He replied earnestly. I've never seen him so willing to offer help to anyone aside from his mother. Or does he need something from me?

"Probably not," I smiled trying to put on my girl-next-door façade again. "I guess I'm just a little in my head today. Nothing to worry about."

"Heh," he chuckled slightly into his hand. "Strange, I feel like you usually have all the answers. I guess you _are_ human."

"What do you mean?" I wasn't sure how to interpret what he was saying.

"Nothing, just talking to myself," he smirked as he got on to his train. "Be careful on your way home."

_Was that a joke? Does he suspect me?_

* * *

The anxiety in my body was at an all time high. There was no telling what that sly fox meant by his comment from earlier. I lay in my bed; having skipped dinner with a half assed excuse saying my stomach was hurting. The day seemed fairly normal to begin with, school, Yusuke and Keiko's usual antics, visiting the hospital. But what changed? Did I give myself away?

Or is this a trap to try and reveal myself?

Or is this a pun on _his_ situation?

My fingers went to massage my temples as a way to relieve itself of the headache that was beginning to form. I don't have time for this. I needed answers and there was one person I had a feeling _might_ have answers. With the door locked and a scented candle lit I separated my spirit from my physical body. It's taken me a lot of practice to be able to do this but with a bit of guided practice from Botan over the years it was starting to come naturally for me.

My spirit naturally floated upwards as I made my way towards Spirit World. It took longer traveling by myself than on the back of Botan's oar, but at least it was peaceful. In this form I couldn't feel the chilly night air but I saw all the lights below me and I could feel the slightest tingle when I passed by a few clouds. This form was strange, but it was the only way to access the Reikai. Botan had warned me that injuries sustained in this form would translate over to my human body.  
I wonder how Kurama was able to bring the Artifacts of Darkness over to the Living World in this form. Then again, he is a thousand year old fox spirit known for his thieving abilities, stealing from Koenma was probably like stealing from a baby for him.

A chuckle escaped from my mouth as I pictured the legendary bandit Youko Kurama stealing a lollipop from Koenma.

"What are you laughing about?" Botan's voice called out to me from the side. "Want a lift?"

"Do you know the way?" I goaded remembering the first time she took me to Spirit World and wasn't sure of her way. I didn't wait for her to respond as I took a seat on the end of her paddle.

"You're awfully quiet today," She commented.

"Just a lot to think about," I replied. After a moments hesitation I asked her a question that's been plaguing my mind. "Do you think demons can have human emotions?"

"They're horrible beings, Tsubaki," Botan answered absolutely. "You know that as well as I do. They do evil things, they take control and try to destroy everything."

"Yeah, I thought you would say that," I responded knowing that _this_ Botan was still new. She wouldn't understand the complexities of Kurama and Hiei's wellbeing until further along in the plot that's about to unfold.

I didn't say anything more not wanting to explain the thoughts I had or give away any unwanted details about Kurama that they weren't already aware of. They knew he existed but as far as they knew he's nothing more than a low class demon hiding out. They don't see him as a threat especially seeing his good behavior in his human form. I didn't want to be the one that brought more attention to him.

Jorge guided us towards Koenma's office once we arrived to the building; "Koenma-sama is in quite the horrible mood today. He's been threatening everyone with 100 spankings. It appears his father will be returning home soon and he's very behind on his paperwork."

"I'll be quick," I reassured him. Jorge was such a nice ogre. It's too bad he was reduced to nothing more than a comedic side character. I entered the office to see stacks and stacks of paper. "Buried in paperwork I see."

"What do you want? I'm very busy today," Koenma said as he continued to stamp sheets and sheets of documents.

"I just came to do my monthly reports. I thought you'd be excited to see me," I pretended to pout.

"Father will be here in a few days and I need to make sure everything gets done on time! Now hurry up with your report," He commanded.

"Nothing too strange has been happening recently," I commented. "But the atmosphere around the city has begun to change. There are rumors of children disappearing. Most claim that they ran away, but my intuition tells me otherwise," I responded.

Koenma paused with his next stamp, eyeing me carefully and asked, "Your intuition or your knowledge?"

"Intuition at this point. Perhaps foreshadowing my knowledge?" the latter part came out as more of a question than an answer.

"Still as vague as ever," he sighed with contempt.

"Wasn't that why you've let me keep this made up position of mine?" I cunningly countered.

"Well yes," he crossed his arms and furrowed his brows. "But that doesn't mean I like it. And I thought long and hard on the name of your position for my father so don't make fun of it."

A laughed escaped before I could catch it, "Yes because 'hidden human field investigator and doer of stuff' definitely sounded professional when you said that to your father."

"Tsubaki! Don't make fun of Koenma-sama!" Jorge the ogre defended. "King Enma came home early that day and the young master isn't good at thinking on his feet. He doesn't have the ability to come up with anything better than 'doer of stuff' to show importance to your necessity."

"Ogre. Don't defend me." Koenma glared at his assistant. "But yes, keep an eye out on those missing children case. I'll try and send down someone to take a look if things escalate."

I nodded my head and was about to make my way out when a thought occurred to me. "Who's your spirit detective?"

"No one at the moment. We're trying to fill in the position but we haven't come across anyone who could be a viable candidate. They have to either have a near death experience to awaken their spiritual energy or they have to already have a super strong spiritual sense to them."

"I know sir! What about Tsubaki? She's already doing so much for us and she has her spiritual sense and intuition," Botan suggested.

"But I'm nowhere near strong enough for what's to come. And I doubt I'd be good in a fight," I responded.

"Yes, which is precisely why she is our field investigator," Koenma agreed.

"But sir, aren't investigators and detectives the same thing?" Jorge pointed out.

"NO YOU DOOFUS I THOUGHT LONG AND HARD ABOUT IT!" Koenma burst out. I wasn't going to be the one who pointed out that Jorge was in fact very right about the two words were synonyms for one another.

"I do have one request, one that may help my investigations." I interrupted their argument.

"Go on?" He allowed me to continue.

"Do you know where the psychic I met a few months ago went? She gave me her phone number to contact her with but the line has been disconnected," I pulled out the card that I've kept in my wallet for whatever reason.

"Oh! That's a Spirit World business card!" Botan pointed out.

I looked at it again, not seeing the difference between real paper and spirit world paper.

"How did she manage to get her hands on that?" Botan thought for a moment before continuing. "When you get home try dispersing your spirit energy onto the card."

"Am I even capable of that?" I stared at the card with a bit of doubt. "I know I have the sight but I don't think I'd be able to control my energy that well."

"Have you tried?" Koenma asked as he finally went back to his paperwork.

Botan guided me back to the human world, when I woke up it was already well past midnight, the candle blown out on its own. I pulled out the physical card from my pocket and when I tried dispensing my energy onto it the faintest of words were able to appear.

An address.

* * *

_Thank you so much to everyone that's been reading my story. I started writing this for myself as a way to destress after a long and busy day of work so I really appreciate everyone who's taken the time to read and follow along. Thank you especially to **xenocanaan** for leaving her reviews!_


	8. Getaway

**Chapter 7: Getaway**

* * *

Skipping school was something that I _never_ thought I would do in this life. Most of my previous life was spent skipping school due to hospital visits, but today would be different. The morning was spent going through my every day routine; I woke up, put on my school uniform and walked out of the house as if my plan wasn't about to begin. Today, instead of heading for Yusuke's house to find Keiko, I instead went to Kuwabara's home.

The only place that _might_ be able to help me.

Well, depending on how friendly the resident at this house would be. I rang the doorbell; eagerly hoping the person I needed most would be there.

"You just missed my baby bro, kid," Shizuru said plainly once she saw my face.

"I'm not here for Kuwa-chan, I actually kind of need your help," I said hesitantly. Shizuru and I weren't close. In fact, sometimes I wasn't sure whether or not she liked me. As far as I knew, she saw me another one of her little brother's annoying friends.

"Well, that's different," she answered. She started walking back into her house, leaving the door open, which was probably the best invite I could expect from her.

"What do you need? A haircut?" She led me towards their kitchen table snubbing her cigarette out as she sat down. "And no beating around the bush, I don't have time for it."

I took a deep breath and proceeded to explain to her as much as I could without revealing that I had knowledge of a possible future. My plan was to have Shizuru cover for me this weekend while I went hunting for Madame Yu.

"So let me get this straight, you want me to cover for you while you go gallivanting off to find some psychic you found 4 months ago who you can't contact using a phone but left you a random address?"

"Um. Yes?" I replied knowing that my request from completely ridiculous.

"Why ask me? Why not get one of your friends to do it?"

"Well, because Keiko is such a goodie-goodie, Yusuke would hold it over my head and your brother would end up going to _you_ anyway, so I might as well cut out the middle man, right?"

"Guess that's a good point," She reached into her pocket to light a second cigarette.

"Besides, my parents trust you because you're an adult. They think you're responsible, but you're also willing to go along with slightly unorthodox plans."

She paused for a moment eyeing me from the side, "Unorthodox, you say? Well, next question. Why go?"

"I think it could be really useful," I replied trying not to give anything away.

"Yeah, so is a library so why not just go there," she dismissed my answer. "Now, why do you really want to go?"

The look she was giving me – pointed and accusing – was telling me that I needed to give her a better reason. Something more realistic, "Kuwa-chan tells me that your psychic abilities are better than his, so you must understand the feeling of having an ability and wishing you could do more with it."

"Kazu never told me you had psychic abilities," she replied indicating slight shock for the first time today.

"I never told him," I said honestly. "I've never told anyone. It's hard to explain even to someone else who has similar abilities. But I think she could help answer some of my questions and maybe help in some form."

She snuffed out the butt of her cigarette and sighed, "Alright, kid. I'll do it, but I'm going with you. I can't just let a 13-year-old kid go to some stranger's house. We'll go Friday."

"Not now?" Disappointment evident in my voice.

"Nope. Hate to admit it but you're probably one of the only friends Kazu had that I think _might_ be a good influence, me allowing you to skip school would negate that," she said adamantly as she handed my school bag back to me. "As for your excuse on this weekend, just leave it to me, kiddo."

She had a smirk on her face. The same smirk that I saw on Kuwabara's face before he did something stupid to make Yusuke punch him in the face. It wasn't the most comforting look she's given me, but it also isn't the worst look she's given me. No that one was reserved for that day when Kuwabara somehow convinced me to spy on his sister's date with him, but that's a story for another time.

"Okay, so this weekend?" I raised my eyebrow at her – suspicious of the look on her face.

"On one condition though," she smiled. "You have to start tutoring Kazu and I expect _at least_ two full letter grade out of it."

I paused for a moment, debating whether I'd be able to do that. I've helped him out on the occasion before, short attention span and a desire to goof off before studying would be difficult to get past. But then again, Kuwa-chan is definitely smart. Without a doubt, if his grades at the moment are at around the D/F range then getting him up to the low B/upper C level shouldn't be too difficult.

"Deal."

* * *

I was already late for school. In fact, that conversation with Shizuru made me miss homeroom and the first two periods and I wasn't exactly in a rush to make it in time for my nest few classes.

"Well, look who the cat dragged over," I heard a voice – Yusuke's – call out from behind me. "Didn't realize you were the skipping school type."

"Don't be mistaken. I still don't approve of truancy," I said not wanting him to get the wrong idea.

"And yet here you are, not in class. I always knew you had it in you," he laughed – eyes twinkling as if he hit the jackpot at his favorite arcade game. "So, out with it. What caused a goody two shoes like you to ditch?"

"I just had some business to take care of," I replied plainly hoping he wouldn't ask too many questions. The disappointment was evident on his face. Since we were five years old, Yusuke has practically made it his life's mission to find _something_ to take me down with. Maybe it was the fact that within the next year he'd be facing his literal death or the fact that depending on the angle I looked at him he did kind of look like a beaten down puppy dog (Keiko's words, not mine) so I sighed and relented. "But I would prefer it if you didn't mention anything to my parents. Or Keiko."

Sparks in his eyes instantly fired up, and I'm sure I could see inner Yusuke relishing in the potential scoop he was going to dig up, "So, tell me more. What was this business that no one can know about?"

"Do you ever feel useless?" I asked outright, not exactly sure where I was going with this conversation.

"If this is some lead up to you making fun of me I'd rather just get to the juicy gossip I can hold over your head," He scoffed thinking I was just teasing him again.

"No, I'm being serious, do you ever feel useless? Like no matter what you know or do _nothing_ would matter? Like you can't do anything about the situation that you're in and worst of all you can't do anything to help your friends out?" I blurted out faster than I could stop myself.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, where is this coming from?" Yusuke looked scared of me right now, and I've never seen him scared. Give him a tournament full of demons and he'll flourish, but one girl that's upset and he gets taken down at an instant.

"Sorry, guess I'm just overwhelmed," I replied hoping that we could end it before he starts calling me an outright freak.

After a moment or two he finally replied, "Wanna go to the arcade?"

"What?" I'm sure if real life had such a thing as sweatdrops and falling over in shock, I would've done it.

"Arcade? If you're feeling so overwhelmed then why not just take a day off?" He reasoned. "I mean, if you're this worked up after only two days back at school then who knows what'll happen to you down the line. Might as well ditch in the beginning when there's hardly any work than keel over in the middle of the year during exams"

"Sure," I said simply but surprisingly. I turned on my heel, heading in the opposite direction of school and towards the town center where all the cafes and arcades were located. I'm sure if I looked back Yusuke would be staring in utter shock, not expecting me to take him up on his offer. But, hey, a girls gotta live and so far I haven't done much living and I'm already on my second life.

If I'm being honest, I completely sucked at video games. Yusuke did his best at accommodating my lack of skill, shockingly, but he _definitely _had a limit to his patience. We made it through two rounds of a sharpshooter game and three rounds of Mortal Kombat before he lost it.

"Are you serious? How can a person suck this much at video games? Even Keiko can beat me in at least one round if I go easy on her," he sighed.

I tried suggesting we play a trivia game or a puzzle game but he wasn't having any of it, and that was when an idea popped into my head, "Tell you what, I'll bet you lunch I can beat you at the next game we play, but I get to choose."

"Oh, you got yourself a deal, Baka. But don't try to play me with one of those trivia or whatever games you keep suggesting."

"Final Lap," I pointed to the racing game over in the corner. Having never played this game before I had no idea why but I had a hunch I'd be good at this one. Yusuke grinned, probably thinking about what he'd be ordering for lunch, as the two of us made our way towards the machines.

In my old life I was lucky enough to have a few years of my teenage life where I wasn't completely ill, and one of the traditional American teen tradition I got to partake in was getting my license once I turned 16 years old. And boy did I _love_ having a license. Despite the numerous speeding tickets I got that year, the freedom that piece of plastic gave me was a gift. But those very same speeding tickets were what gave me the courage to make this very daring bet. I might actually be able to win this one.

_Oh how wrong I was about that._

Yusuke didn't laugh at me as hard as I pictured he would once our fifth round revealed a final score of three to two with the win in his favor, "to be fair you weren't as bad as I thought you'd be. I _might_ even be willing to let you be my getaway driver "

I rolled m eyes at his comment, "Gee, thanks, such high praise from the king of all delinquents. C'mon, let's go get your victory lunch."

Yusuke walked the streets of Sarayashiki as if the roads belonged to him, which is ironic considering a car in this very area hits him. The thought of it pained me. But there was nothing I could do to prevent that, to ease the pain of it all. How much did he suffer during that moment? The anime never showed it but it had to have hurt for it to kill him, and what about the trauma of it all? He genuinely thought it was better for him to stay a _ghost_ than to return to life.

And just like that Yusuke made a quick turn of the heel and started going off on me, "there you go again. Would ya quit it? It's really starting to piss me off and I'm _trying_ to be on my best behavior here."

"Huh? What the _fuck_ are you going off about?" I retaliated.

"That – that pathetic look on your god damn face! What the hell is buried so deep into your brain that you just keep sighing and looking like…like _that!_" He spat off again. "Keep it up and Keiko's going to start scolding me again thinking I caused it when I _know_ for a fact that I didn't…right?"

Surprise hit me when he asked for confirmation. I've known him all these years and yet the thought of Yusuke being perceptive enough to _actually_ be able to analyze my facial structures had never even come across my brain. I was sure that Yusuke only cared for Keiko before his death. He didn't have friends, he thought his mother didn't give a rat's ass about him and he hated almost every teacher at our school. But me? He was showing concern for me? and granted, I'm sure most of it is because Keiko and I are best friends in this life, but I guess I'll take it.

"Are you…_concerned_ about me, Yusuke?" I teased.

"Don't you dare get any fucking mixed signals. We are enemies to the bitter end," he spat off.

My head instantly threw back in laughter at his flushed cheeks and the supposed-to-be glare he was shoving towards me that hid a look of worry, "thanks, Yusuke." I didn't elaborate on it and I pointed towards his favorite place to eat an all you can eat Yakiniku restaurant. "Here, right?"

He shrugged his shoulders, rolled his eyes and muttered "girls" under his breath but he followed me inside regardless.

* * *

It was easy to understand why he was the leader of the group. Yusuke had a way of comforting people without directly confronting them, and seeing as two demons and another hardheaded stubborn street fighter formed their group it was probably the best way to handle them. The air around Yusuke was relaxed despite how tensed a situation can be. Today was proof of that.

Yusuke somehow convinced not only myself but also the waiter to allow two thirteen year olds to order a bottle of hot sake to go along with our lunch. Apparently his mother was "friends" with the owner.

After (easily) convincing me to take him on shot for shot on the sake he laughed and said, "how the hell can you keep drinking? You could probably drink the devil under the table if you tried"

I took another shot along with a heaping chopstick-full of barbeque. Not wanting to explain the few years of illegal drinking in a previous life that I partook in I lied and said, "guess I'm just stronger than you and I suspected." I never drank much post cancer but I _did_ drink and having a body – albeit a 13 year old body – that could handle these shots did make life feel better. Or maybe it was just the alcohol that made the moment worth whatever repercussions I'll have to face later on worth it.

"Speaking of devils," I started wanting to get to a safer topic than my drinking abilities. "Have you ever noticed that Iwamoto looks like he has horns? Now that dude _could_ be the devil."

"Had no idea you could be such a riot, Tsubaka," Yusuke laughed. My inhibitions were too clouded to argue his nickname for me so instead I just laughed along. "It's good that you're feeling better."

And instantly that comment sobered me up and reminded me of something I had wanted to say to him for years but never had the opportunity to say it, "You're a good friend Yusuke."

"Well, well, well. Do my ears deceive me or did you just compliment me?" he grinned, ready to tease again but I interrupted before he could.

"You are," I confirmed then proceeded to grin myself. "Keiko's lucky to have someone like you love her so much."

"I don—" He started before pausing to take a moment to actually think about what he was going to say. "Don't tell her I do."

"I'm sure she realizes," I replied with certainty.

"No, she doesn't. At least nothing more than just as an annoying friend who won't leave her alone," he was staring off into the distance. It was surprising to see him so pensive, so serious. Over the years I had never gotten a chance to talk to _this_ Yusuke. Usually he was just portrayed as a strong dimwit who usually got lucky. "I don't want her putting all her eggs into one rotten basket."

Ah. There it was. He didn't think he was good enough for her.

"You're good Yusuke, more than you realize," I replied back.

He let the words settle between the two of us. We'd never been this frank between us. The last time I got a genuine reaction from him was probably when he was seven years old and he surprisingly thanked me for his birthday present. The two of us always had a silent understanding between each other. We knew our 'hatred' for one another was childish and wasn't true but neither of us wanted to let go of that front, partly because it's become such a long standing inside joke between us but also because neither of us wanted to give away our hidden emotions. Keiko was the talker, the one who got people to talk things out. Yusuke and I were the ones with hidden agendas and secret altruistic motives tucked away.

After paying for the meal, which was cheaper than I expected considering they couldn't have it written that they served alcohol to minors, and taking the last sips of sake, we were ready to head out.

Yusuke was holding my school bag as I collected myself when his eyes narrowed and he whispered, "Why is that redhead glaring at us?"

My heartbeat quickened and all of the positivity I was feeling from the food, alcohol and afternoon playing hooky collapsed. I stared towards the doorway; a group of students, no doubt just getting out of school but within that group my brown eyes met emerald. Kurama. The calculating, conniving, sly fox was present as he stared me down trying to analyze the situation that lay before him. He could easily summarize that I had skipped school since my classes end later than his, his sharp eyes can probably see the now empty bottle of sake on the table and if not that he could probably notice my flushed cheeks and wobbly disposition.

I pried my eyes away, grabbed my bag and hurriedly said; "you know how you said you'd let me be your getaway driver earlier? Well I need you to do that for me right now. Right this instant actually. Don't ask questions, just book it. _Now_."

And the glare he had on his face dissipated and instead what I saw was the trickster of a delinquent that I've had the pleasure to grow up with. The clogs turned in that dusted brain of his and a smirk formed on his face as he grabbed my hand and we ran out faster than I thought possible.

The two of us ducked our head and sped past Kurama. No doubt if it wasn't for the group of teens that surrounded him, he would've been able to catch up to us. I thanked my lucky stars that he wasn't with Shiroi and that it was one of the rare occasions when he chose to supply his human façade with school friends. There was no way in _hell_ that Yusuke could meet him so early on. I can only hope that he had been too focused on me to be able to commit Yusuke's face to memory.

We ran a few more blocks away from the restaurant, eventually making our way to the train station where a train that was conveniently heading towards our neighborhood. We must've looked frantic, two teenagers haphazardly winded from running.

"Damn, I haven't ran that much since we were kids racing around the park," Yusuke sighed overdramatically as we took a seat. "So mind explaining to me _why_ I just did that?"

"Yes. I do mind actually," I replied finally able to breath a sigh of relief.

"So, that's it," he smirked thinking he solved a world-class mystery. "He's the reason why you've been so out of it today. He rejected you, didn't he? Didn't he? That's why you're so down in the dumps and acting not like yourself. Honestly, I thought that all that schoolwork you do finally got to your head but I never expected you were heartbroken."

"Yeah, that's it," I sighed, relenting to his tall tale. It was easier to go along with it rather than explain the truth of it all.

"You know what's the most surprising about it?" Yusuke continued to access.

"What? That I have a heart?" I quipped trying to imagine what he could possible take from the situation he just saw.

"I never thought you'd be into redheads," he stated – seriousness evident on his face.

Between bursts of laughter I said, "don't ever change, Yusuke. Don't ever change."

* * *

Running away from Kurama quickly sobered me up, which was great since it gave me ample time to mentally prepare myself to face my mother. Yusuke had offered me his apartment to sit down and reflect but I knew better than to accept it. His apartment also came along with Atsuko who would no doubt tease me for day drinking at 13 with her son. Besides, if I knew Yusuke, and I do – from both personal and fictional analysis – he wanted to 'coincidentally' run into Keiko as she was walking home from school.

"Good luck, you're gonna need it," He chuckled as he waved his hand into the air indicating a goodbye.

"Wait, Yusuke!" I shouted after him feeling compelled to say something else. "Thank you! I really appreciate it. Tell Keiko I said hi!"

At the mention of Keiko he lifted up his middle finger towards me causing me to burst into giggles. One last good laugh before I enter into the hell that will be my mother's wrath.

Deep breath in, deep breathe out. I collected myself for a moment before opening the door of my house. The house was quiet but the light was on in the kitchen. Slowly, but with as much confidant as I could muster up I walked to the table and sat down on the table. Mother was washing dishes, not acknowledging my presence. Which honestly made me feel worse. I've never had to deal with this in this lifetime. Not even in my old life. I used to get into trouble but it was easily bypassed after using the cancer card. Granted I _never_ wanted to have to use the cancer card, but having that in the back of my pocket definitely had its uses.

After another few moments of quiet, I looked at the clock and said, "Volunteering hours are soon, aren't they, mother?"

Ignoring me question she spoke in an even voice, not yet revealing her anger, "Shizuru called."

"Oh, she did?" The surprise in my voice was true and honest. During the afternoon with Yusuke I had almost completely forgotten about speaking with Shizuru this morning. "What did she say?"

"Well, she told me the gist of everything," she admitted with a hint of disappointment evident in her voice. "Honestly, I wish you had just come to me with your problems. I may be your mother but I was also once your age so I _do_ understand. And skipping school? That's so unlike you."

"I'm so so so sorry, mother," I answered honestly. I wasn't sure what exactly Shizuru had said to her but regardless I knew I had no excuse to give her.

"And what's surprising most of all was that _Yusuke_ of all people contacted me to make sure I wouldn't worry, that should've been you, Tsubaki!" Her voice was starting to rise.

"Wait, Yusuke called you?" I asked trying to remember a moment when he went to the phone. Could it have been when he said he was going to get more change for the machines?

"Surprisingly, yes. He called and said that you were upset so he was taking you on a 'mental health day' as he called it," she answered.

"Wow. Yusuke, huh? Who knew _he_ could be the responsible type?" I sat back in my seat, taken back by the new information I was being given.

"Yes, surprising indeed. But that isn't the topic at hand, Tsubaki," she said as she wiped her hands on the dishtowel beside her and she went to sit across from me. Worry lines she hadn't had before clearly lined her face. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just, I didn't know _what_ to say to you," I replied. Which was true. I genuinely had no idea what either Shizuru or Yusuke had said to my mother when I was out of earshot.

"Honey, if you were have boy troubles you could easily come to me about it, " Her anger had dissipated and was instead replaced with a kindness that you could only find from a mother. "We've all been there, and I understand wanting to take a moment to collect yourself."

I didn't comment on the _boy trouble_ aspect of it. Why did everyone always use _that_ as an excuse for anything? I genuinely had more faith in Shizuru to be able to come up with a more unique explanation, but then again if my mother can believe it, I supposed she made the right call.

"So you aren't mad?" I asked uncertainly. "And Shizuru asked you about this weekend?"

"Oh, I'm mad, and you're grounded, but you didn't do anything that can't be expected from a _teenager_," she scrunched up her nose when she said the word teenager, clearly trying to lessen the tension. "Although you did start acting out sooner than I expected you would, your actions aren't anything that can't be forgiven. And yes, you can go with Shizuru this weekend."

I went to go give my mother a hug as a thank you for her understanding, "I really am sorry, mother."

"I know you're sorry," my mother replied. "It is at least comforting to know that you're a normal child. Since you were young you've always acted like an adult, at least I know I can still mother you. Just don't make a habit out of it."

"I'll promise. I'll schedule my day offs with you from now on, in fact, next week there's an exam and I think I'm going to be feeling like a teenager that day so –"

Her hand made a gesture for me to be quiet. "You know that's not what I meant," she tried to be stern but instead a soft glimmer of a smile reached her eyes. "So, do you want to tell me who this boy is?"

I recoiled instantly – legs stiffening, arms moving with every step like a robot – and quickly went to grab my school bad, "I should really go call Keiko and get the notes from class today, mother. No more truancy for me, back to studying. Study, study, study! Boys? What are boys? I don't know any!"

"Mother's always find out!" she called after. "Go get ready for volunteering."

Remembering the events from earlier today I thought better than to go, "I'm actually not really up for visiting the hospital today. A lot happened today and I'd rather not go."

"Are you sure? We find out if Shiori-san will be discharged today," she coaxed trying to convince me to go.

"I'm sure, I don't think my wits would be up to par with Shuichi today," I laughed – with a bit of awkwardness hanging in the air.

"Hmm…I supposed it's up to you then. I'll just ask Maya-chan to do your rounds for today," she commented with a bit of suspicion hidden in her tone.

* * *

Yusuke was right, and despite him helping me out the other day, admitting to it was never fun. He was right because I truly am a bore at times. What made me realize this was that being grounded wasn't much different compared to my day-to-day life. School, hospital, home, it was a cycle that never failed. The only difference was that I was avoiding Kurama, which meant I was avoiding the hospital. But it wasn't all bad, I spent the last few days with Keiko more, which meant I was able to study more.

"Why the hell I Kuwabara here anyway?" Yusuke complained. "Aren't you under house arrest? Why is he here?"

"Yusuke! Why are you here if you aren't even going to study? Kuwabara-kun is trying to get help with science from Tsubaki, you should at least try to do your homework," Keiko scolded.

"Such a nag," he muttered. I saw his eye wander over towards me and he said. "Tsubaki?"

"Yes, Yusuke?" I asked a little annoyed that he joined in on the study session. "Kuwa-chan, if you look on the diagrams it shows the difference between a plant cell and an animal cell." I pointed towards the plant wall to show the major differences.

"I'll do my homework, but I'll need a pen," Yusuke grinned annoyingly. I sighed and gave him one of my black pens. He grinned again and said, "Do you have a _red_ pen?"

"Why would you use a red pen? That's what teachers use, Urameshi," Kuwabara stated as if it were the most obvious thing he could say.

"I just know how much Tsubaki loves the color red, right?" he grinned devilishly.

"Her favorite color is green though," Kuwabara defended. "Because she likes plants. Right Tsubaki-chan?"

"Yes, Kuwa-chan. Yusuke is just trying to tease me so he won't have to do his homework," I did my best to smile back at Yusuke.

"But, Kuwabara, I'm pretty sure she prefers the color red," Yusuke kept smirking as my face grew more and more irritated.

"Well, isn't this a full house," my mother said as she entered the house holding a new addition to our collection of flowers.

"Those are gorgeous," Keiko complimented. "Did you grow them?"

"No, these are a gift for Tsubaki. Belated birthday girl from Shuichi-kun," my mother smiled handing me the pot as well as a letter from him.

"Shuichi-kun, huh?" Yusuke observed. "Auntie, any chance this Shuichi guy has red hair?"

I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him, have Koenma revive him, let him get hit by that car, have him revived again and then kill him all over again.

"Yes he does, have you met him?" My mother asked surprised. "I should've had him just come over if I'd realized you were having a study group with everyone."

"Who's Shuichi?" Kuwabara asked clearly feeling like he missed the connective tissue on what Yusuke was laughing about.

Yusuke burst out laughing as if he'd discovered a treasure trove of hidden jokes that were all at my expense.

"He's no one important, Kuwa-chan. Just a friend that goes to another school, no one important," I gritted my teeth hoping, by some miracle, Yusuke would stop with the torment over this so that way I wouldn't have to play with fate so much. I only have one more year where I have to keep these boys apart and Yusuke and his stupid mouth is going to ruin it all for me.

My mother giggled as I quickly took the potted daffodils up to my room and placed the card inside my drawer so I could read its contents later when I was alone. I heard a knock on my door and saw Keiko standing at the doorway. She didn't wait for me to invite her in. instead she closed the door and took a seat on my bed and gave me her usual look that seemed to say, "spill it" without her having to say it.

"Okay, what do you want to know?" I sighed in defeat as I sat beside her, clutching my favorite pillow.

"Is he cute?" she asked wanting to get down to the giddy girly talk.

"Yes, but it isn't as big of a deal as Yusuke is making it out to be," I promised her. "Did he tell you about a few days ago when the two of us ditched school?"

"Not everything," Keiko said. Was that worry in her eyes? Maybe even a touch of jealousy? "But afterwards he kept asking if you liked anyone and if I knew their names."

I saw the look on her face and I knew exactly what she was thinking because I had been there too. "I don't like Yusuke. 100% DO. NOT. LIKE." I crossed my arms into an X-formation just to emphasize what I was saying. Her face relaxed and I continued with my story, "But basically he and I went to the arcade because he saw that I was distracted. I didn't want to go to school that day so I went with him and I ended up losing a bet so I paid for lunch," it was hard getting everything out. And I knew this was the part where she would get mad. "And we may have taken a few sips of sake."

"You two _what?_" Keiko narrowed her eyes. "I leave the two of you alone for one moment and—"

She paused.

"Okay, forget that, continue with your story," she added realizing she didn't care about the alcohol as much as I expected her to.

"Well, Shuichi ended up showing up there as Yusuke and I were leaving the restaurant. I was completely red in the face, kind of embarrassed and I really didn't want the two of them meeting so he and I just ran out of the building. I haven't seen Shuichi since then and Yusuke just keeps using this to make fun of me."

She took in what I had said and then waited one, two, three seconds before asking, "And?"

"And what?" I asked not sure where she was going with this.

"Well, that sounds fun and everything but what about _him_? This Shuichi guy? You like him?"

"No, I just didn't want him seeing me like that," I answered. "Besides, I'm just an ordinary person to him. Nothing remarkable."

"I doubt that if he's giving you flowers," Keiko tried to reassure.

"His full name is _Shuichi Minamino_," I said to see if Keiko could make the connection.

"Isn't he?" she started asking.

"The one that Maya-chan likes," I replied. Hopefully this little tidbit could help with explaining my supposed 'boy trouble' as everyone has been putting it. If you can't beat them then you might as well join them. I've had plenty of experience with heartbreak in my previous life, I'm sure I'd be able to put on a convincing act for everyone else.

"I see, does she know?" Keiko asked.

"No, and I'm not going to tell her," I confirmed.

"I think you should tell her," she gave me her mom look.

"No, I'll get over it quickly, I just don't want to see him for a while," I replied. Hoping "It'll be fine. I'll be fine."

Keiko rolled her eyes and said, "whatever you say, Tsubaki."

She walked out of the room to give me a moment of privacy. It was frustrating not being able to tell anyone what was really going on. I had no idea what my role in any of this even was. It would be so easy for me to just abandon all of these connections, go about this second life and pretend everyone was better off for it. This wasn't supposed to be my story, so why was I getting so worked up about everyone in it?

* * *

Shizuru wasn't the talkative type, and come to think about it up until a few days ago I had never actually spoken to her for longer than ten minutes at a time as I was helping tutor her younger brother. The road ahead would be a long one. Several hours out according to the maps I've been researching. Apart from my family I haven't missed too much in terms of my old life, but in this case I really missed GPS or at least Google maps, hell I'll even accept the early version of Apple maps over having to look through five different physical maps and trying to come up with solid enough directions for Shizuru.

"What's got you so pensive, kid?" Shizuru asked as we were driving off towards this secret location that may or may not be trap. "We've got a long drive ahead of us so you might as well say whatever's on your mind."

"Why did you tell everyone I was having boy troubles?" I pouted from the passenger seat.

"It was an easy excuse, didn't think you'd want me to tell your mom that I was taking you on some road trip towards an unknown location somewhere up in the mountains," she reached into her glove compartment to pull out a cigarette and a lighter. "Why? Was it too on the nose?"

"No, if anything it'd be the opposite, but now everyone thinks I'm some sort of boy crazy thirteen year old," I scoffed, rolling my eyes at the thought of it.

"Kazu's last science exam was a 79," Shizuru commented.

"Oh, really?" to be honest a part of me was really disappointed.

Her eyebrows raised, questioning my lack of excitement, "hey that's pretty good from him. Kazu hasn't gotten that good of a grade in his entire life."

"Yeah, I'm proud of him, but I know he was hoping for a B after all the studying this week," I responded remembering how excited he was before taking the exam.

"Oh, is that why he was all down in the dumps this morning?"

"He was upset?" I frowned feeling like I could've done something. Maybe go over more topics or run through a few practice exams before the actual exam. "I'll go over everything with him again so that way next time he'll do better."

"So, you gonna tell me about these supposed psychic abilities of yours?" Shizuru asked.

"What about them?" I replied a little sassier than I intended for it to be.

She paused for a moment before asking, "Well, you seen any ghost?" The way her voice said it make it sound as if it was as casual as a 'how was your day?' sort of question you'd ask a friend to get a conversation going.

I wasn't sure how much to say; I knew anything related to Spirit World was off limits, but the occasional ghost story? I'm sure I could come up with something. After remembering one event from when I was a child I asked her a question, "Do you remember that ghost lady at the park that Kuwa-chan used to always cry about?"

"Oh yeah, the little old lady one that would sit on the bench," Shizuru reminisced. She had been at that very park every now and then when we were kids. She was usually watching over Kuwabara, sometimes with friends, sometimes by herself. "Kazu used to be so scared of her. What did happen to her?"

"A few months after meeting Kuwa-chan, I went back to that park and I found her," I recalled. "She liked to creep him out by smiling and waving at him so when I was finally able to see her I asked her why she did that."

"You actually talked to her?" Shizuru rubbed her temple, probably amazed that a person could have no many bad ideas in their supposed short life. "You're nuts kid."

"But she told me that she liked watching him because he reminded her of her grandson. She missed him so I ended up tracking down her grandson who was probably in his late teens by that point and brought him to the park. She was so happy that she just…left."

"You're such a… I don't even know if you're an idiot for doing something potentially dangerous or if you're just a really nice person," she scratched her head in – what exactly? Frustration? Mixed with...approval?

"Can't I be both?" I grinned realizing that I might be one of the few people on Shizuru's good side, which meant a lot to me in the long run.

The scenery around us became more mountainous. Forest started to surround us and the ground Shizuru drove on had become dirt miles and miles ago. The sky was gorgeous and the air was crisp. When we opened the window I caught a whiff of saltwater indication a beach was somewhere along the horizon.

Before long a sense of familiarity came to me. It wasn't from the anime or manga, because they never showed it there, but it was like a sixth sense stirring inside of me.

"The road is too rocky for my car to handle, we should be close enough for me to park the car and we can walk the rest," Shizuru said, putting her hand on her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun as she looked out.

I nodded my head as I walked a path that shouldn't be familiar but was. Each step felt like instinct until that instinct eventually led me towards the bottom of a giant staircase.

The very staircase that Yusuke will walk up, only to find his eventual master and grandmother figure.

"Why are you gawking, ninny? If you came all this way you must need something from me," A voice – harsh, strong, but full of care – said from on top of the steps.

I followed the voice up and was greeted by a woman I've respected my entire childhood.

"Genkai?" I slipped out before being able to catch myself.

Shizuru stared at me curiously, probably wondering why her young companion looked as startled as a deer caught in headlights.

"O-oh? So she knows my name," she raised an eyebrow at me, probably curious as to how two city girls were able to discover such a remote temple hidden away by the trees and mountain that surround it. "Come on up, don't expect tea unless you make it yourselves."

Who knew this weekend getaway would end up like this?

* * *

_The idea of this story actually stemmed off of that scene of Yusuke and Tsubaki drunkenly trying to run and hide from Kurama. I thought it would come later on in the story but it just seemed to fit here much better compared to in the future. I just always pictured Yusuke to be that perfect friend that you'd ask to be your getaway driver when you're planning a scheme. I also had a really fun scene written up about study sessions between Tsubaki and Kuwabara but it was getting too omake-y for this chapter. _

_Thank you again to xenocanaan for reviewing! Hopefully I can hear from others as well, but I do love seeing that there are people actually following this story and seeing the notifications of that makes me super happy since I genuinely don't think I'm good at writing lol. I think after this chapter I'm going to start exclusively posting on Saturdays as best as I can. I've just been writing and then posting the chapters right away, but I think a solid schedule would be better since things are starting to get busy in my life again. That might also get me out of my bad habit at not editing the chapters I post. hehe. _

_So if not this Saturday then definitely by the following Saturday March 21st!_

_Hope you all liked it! _


	9. Into The Woods

**Chapter 8: Into The Woods**

* * *

We sat seiza style on the floors of Genkai's living room area. The walls in the room were left mostly blank aside from a small certificate or two. As far as I could tell there weren't many pictures laying out that I could see. There was a small bookshelf located in the corner of the room that held a few novels about martial arts and meditation, but the print was too small to read the titles. She hadn't offered tea or snacks which led me to believe she was trying to get straight to business.

I'm sure she doesn't get very many visitors up here in the mountains. Mountains? Forest? Beach? How does one lady even _own_ all of this?

"Well, out with it," Genkai commanded. "Why have you come to visit?"

The room, although empty was full of her presence – calming yet frightening. Her aura exuded out from her without even a lift of a finger, her hair was slightly pinker than I imagined it would be, maybe the months of training a numbskull like Yusuke really did take years out of her. Genkai seemed like a simple person but I knew deep down she had extraordinary power. Just being in the same room as her left me in awe, and not just because she has consistently stayed in my top 10 badass women list which consisted of both real and fictional inspirations. It was hard for me to speak; Genkai was a tough person to fool, as was Shizuru. The only person I was missing would be Kurama and I'd probably be figured out in 0.2 seconds flat.

"Kid sees dead people and wants help," Shizuru said point blank with her thumb extended towards me as she went to lit a cigarette in her hand.

Genkai raised an eyebrow towards me, trying to analyze. Her eyes seemed to look me up and down as if she was trying to assess my strength - which I'm sure was nowhere near as powerful as a person of interest's would be. After a moment she said, "So you want me to train you? Is that it?"

"Well actually, I met with a psychic named Madame Yu and when I left she handed me this card," I pulled out the business card that Madame Yu had given to me and passed it to her. "I wanted to ask her questions but the address on the card ended up leading us to your place."

"I see, Yuko, huh?" she stared at the card I placed in her hands before giving it back to me. "That little ingrate. I help her once and she decides to print my address onto her business card without my permission."

I noticed Shizuru looking at me from the corner of her eyes. Her mouth twitched as if she was going to say something but thought otherwise. Instead she said, "So what do you do? Are you a psychic as well? And how did you hear about her kid if she wasn't the psychic you met?"

Shizuru was too smart to let my small slip up from earlier slide just like that. I felt a bead of sweat form on my forehead when I – very lamely – answered, "From a—a book!"

"A book?" Shizuru questioned.

"Yeah, her mastery of the spirit wave can be used as a healing technique! My father had a book on it!" I said hoping it would be convincing enough for both of them.

"Interesting," Genkai answered sounding unconvinced. "So what question did you have for Yuko?"

"She gave me a psychic reading using tarot cards and I was hoping she'd be able to tell me more about it," I answered.

"I don't do readings," Genkai said firmly. Her eyes darted towards the window quickly and then back toward my direction. "But since you two are here you might as well stay the night. This area can get too dangerous to travel through if it gets too late." She that diverted her attention to Shizuru. "And maybe you'll learn a thing or two about your powers."

"How did you know?" Shizuru sounded intrigued. Knowing how strong her psychic abilities were she could probably sense Genkai's strengths. Not only that but I know in the manga Kuwabara finds out about Genkai through her. Was this how she came to know of Genkai?

"It's easy to sense, if you don't learn how to contain your powers better you might end up as a target for someone. I'm guessing you've had high spiritual awareness since you were young," Genkai answered. "You've probably felt the occasional shiver run up your spine when you sense something? Maybe it runs in your family?"

"It's that Famous Kuwabara Tickle!" I chuckled slightly after seeing Shizuru's face fall at the name her brother and I gave their families abilities.

"Tickle?" Genkai raised her eyebrows towards Shizuru, conveniently sipping her tea to try to hide the small bit of amusement emanating from her. "Call it whatever you want, but the level of awareness you possess is strong enough for me to sense it almost immediately."

Shizuru sighed and gave me a slight glare at having used the name but she responded with, "both my parents have a slight sense for spirits. My brother and I must've inherited it from them."

"I see, and what about you?" Genkai said looking directly at me.

I hadn't planned on meeting Genkai until _possibly_ the Dark Tournament and meeting her sooner than I expected was really putting the pressure on what I was about to say, "I found out about it when I was ten years old. I met her brother and he made me realize that I could see ghost or at least sense them in a way."

"I see," she stared at me again and then pointed to Shizuru. "You, go make some tea. Everything will be through that door."

Shizuru made a face, clearly not used to being ordered around but she went regardless. After the door closed behind her, Genkai looked at me again and said, "So now that your friend is gone, mind telling me what it is you know about me and how?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I know for a fact that I'm not in a single book because if I were you bet your lying ass I would be making money from it if it had my name in it," she argued. "So, like I asked, how do you know about me? Nice necklace by the way."

Instinctively I reached up to hold the necklace that Koenma had given to me years prior. Some of my powers have been syphoning into the pearl as a form of protection, at least from what Koenma's told me. I had a feeling I couldn't straight up lie to her, but maybe instead a few omissions and embellished truths would do just the trick I needed, "It's a bit of a long story."

"We've got time, my kitchen can be a bit difficult to navigate for most average humans," Genkai answered. "Your friend may not be an average human but it'll still take time."

I shuddered to think of what Shizuru may be facing. According to YYH Genkai was known for her rather unorthodox methods; sleeping with snakes, 12 hours balancing on a needle, getting trapped inside of caves, and who knows what else she did outside of those mentioned. Collecting myself, and realizing that I didn't want to end up on her bad side, I started my tale.

"It's hard to believe but I was reincarnated into this body and I managed to keep my memories of my previous life," saying the words out loud sounded more ridiculous that it had when I first realized what happened.

"Not the craziest story I've heard," Genkai nodded her head. "Go on."

"It makes it complicated but the time I came from was very different compared to this world. We had more access to information, stories, and events. I'm still not completely sure how my previous life lines up with my current one," I paused staring at Genkai to see if she believed this crazy story. Her face didn't change or indicate anything I could detect so I continued. "In my previous life I was showed the lives of the people that I'm meeting now in this life. You being one of them."

"Oh?" Genkai raised her eyes, voice indicating that she was intrigued by what I was saying. "Are you sure you know my life exactly?"

"I can't say completely, the history I had access to wasn't complete, and who's to say that there won't be inconsistencies with me here, but I do know that you had previously competed in the Dark Tournament," I felt the tension in the air thicken. I wasn't sure if I should keep going or halt myself. "And I know you want to start looking for your successor soon to pass on your Reikohado."

"So you know about that too," Genkai said. "And why were you seeking council with my former student?"

"Her reading sounded…accurate. Too accurate," I responded. "I wanted to find a way to prepare myself for what's to come."

"And what exactly _is_ to come?" She asked pointedly.

"Battles," I said simply. "Many battles and hardships are coming. Like your previous partner." Genkai's face shifted slightly. I probably would have missed it had I not been paying such close attention to it. "I want to be of _some_ use to the friends that I'm making. I was hoping Madame Yu would be able to give me more insight with what's to come."

I'm sure I was revealing far more than what I was supposed to say, but I wanted her to understand the situation at hand. The story as I know it was set to start within this year and there was so little I could do. From the moment I met Yusuke and Keiko age fourteen seemed like a far off number, but it really wasn't, and the procrastinating habits I formed in my previous life seemed to follow me through to this one.

Genkai's face was concealed from me, but I saw the way her shoulders shrugged and her straightened back loosen. Just from her posture it was evident how much of her life had been taken from her through regret and sorrow. I waited for her to speak but she did. One, two, three beats later and the ominous atmosphere that formed in the air dropped when the door behind us opened revealing Shizuru holding a platter with tea and what looked like an assortment of snacks.

"Hope you don't mind but I figured since I was making the tea I'd grab a few snacks while I was at it," Shizuru smirked. "By the way you're kitchens a mess, why is everything in there so haphazard? And do you _always_ have snakes crawling around your house?"

"If people come in to steal my things I might as well make it hard for them," Genkai shrugged her shoulders and pointed her finger towards me. You, girl, make yourself useful; I need a few items from outside. You any good with plants?"

"She's obsessed," Shizuru rolled her eyes. "Always giving out flowers to everyone."

"Hey, your family loves the plants I get them," I pouted. "But yeah, I'm good with plants."

"Go collect these for me," Genkai said handing me a grocery list full of plants and herbs along with a small basket that contained pruning scissor.

"Wait—" I started to protest but she had already shoved me out the door.

"Just head towards that giant oak tree," Genkai pointed out into the horizon. "Don't worry if you aren't back by sunset I'll try to remember to find you."

"What do you mean _try to remember_?" I started shouting but the door had already been shut tight and I knew I had no choice.

* * *

The area around me felt gigantic. The scenery shows mountain tops, the air gave off a slightly salty fragrance from the beach and the forest before me looked dense or ridden with who knows what. What on Earth was Genkai thinking sending me out here? Shizuru would've been a better choice for this test. Shizuru was stronger than Kuwabara and could pack a pretty mean punch from what I've heard. Going straight towards the tree would've been the obvious choice but instinct, and that episode from Genkai's tournament arc, was telling me not to take a different path. I decided to stick to the areas that had a larger clearing, there were a lot of animals here and who knows what else, so the more space I had to run away the better.

There were numerous plants and wildlife that surrounded me; no doubt many of them were poisonous. I had already lost track of the number of times I passed by hemlock or oleander flowers. Both beautiful plants but can still have dastardly results if ingested. I had already managed to find the plot of herbs that Genkai had a few paces into the woods, rosemary, thyme, sage and mint all crossed off the list, when I started to feel tingles on the back of my neck. Looking around the forest gave me an unpromising feeling, I could've turned back but something told me that I would be all right. Almost as if a wave of calmness surged past all the uncertainty straight towards me. I marched forward hoping I was headed towards the right path through the woods. The sky above was turning a darker shade of orange and the sun was starting to lower, peaking just above the trees on the horizon, when I reached the promised oak tree.

The oak tree was much larger than I had imagined it to me. The roots of it deeply entangled into the earth below it. The bark was a deep brown color, parts of it smacked and almost ashen in color no doubt from the struggles it must've faced in order for it to grow so large through the number of years it's been here. It's incredible that something so massive had started from a small seed.

Something sharp slice the side of my cheek ever so slightly. My instincts had allowed me to avoid anything worse than a small nick. I quickly ducked my head as another shard passed my head and landed on the bark of the tree that lay before me. My head turned trying to locate the source of the weapons. The atmosphere around me gave me the feeling that whoever it was wasn't a friend.

"Come out!" I yelled – eyes darting side-to-side trying to see if they would listen. When no one showed I was left with only one conclusion: above me.

"Looks like the little human has an inkling of psychic awareness," the—the _thing_ said to me. It was a creature, probably of demonkin, judging from the horns and the dark purple-ish skin color it was wearing. It looked animalistic and just based off of my YYH knowledge most likely a low class demon since usually the easier to beat monsters Yusuke faced in the series looked similar to this guy.

"What do you want?" I asked doing my best to keep my voice from showing the utter panic I was feeling on the inside.

"My master wants to know about a certain little _fox_ that you happen to know," his devilish grin grew wider as it tried to strike me again with whatever shards it had.

A _fox_? Was he looking for Kurama? And how does a demon all the way out here know about my connection with him? Could he have been following me to this location ever since we left the city? Or was he following me even before that?

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied as I tried to roll away. The smaller the target the harder it is to hit, and unfortunately my body seemed to translate that thought process into step 1) form a ball and step 2) roll down the hill.

Eventually my rolling came to a dead end with my body hitting a large rock that seemed to block me from all sides. The demon easily followed me, corning me into a figurative box, leaving me caught between a literal rock and a hard place.

"That red head you seem to know, Master Yatsude wants his pretty little head, so tell me about him, otherwise I can just take you to him and he can just devour you," the smell of his mouth was horrendous as he breathed out his threats towards me. His long fingernail grazed my neck when a blast hit him from behind.

I took that opportunity to crawl away towards my savior. I breathed out and said, "Genkai, I'm so glad you finally showed up."

"Finally?" she asked.

"You and Shizuru were following me weren't you?" I said remembering that feeling of kindness and protection that seemed to cut through whatever aura that demon was giving off.

"You bet kid," Shizuru said as she threw a giant piece of wood towards me indicating for it to be my weapon. "Some girls trip, huh?"

"This guys probably been following you for quite some time, he's so weak that his energy levels were so damn hard to detect," Genkai berated the demon that started to get up after the blast of spirit energy Genkai threw at it.

"Weak? Who are you calling weak, old lady?" it shouted back while trying to attack. Genkai stepped to the side missing his poor attempt at attacking her, and allowing me to strike a perfect homerun as revenge.

"Nice one, let's play baseball with Kazu when we get back," Shizuru commented. "When Genkai told me there was a demon following you, I didn't believe it at first but yup, that is definitely some demon. Your previous life knowledge didn't say anything about him?"

"Wait—you heard all that back at the temple?" I pointed my finger accusingly towards her.

"The walls aren't exactly thin there and you don't really have the quietest voice," She said calmly, bored face evident as if we hadn't just encountered a demon.

_So much for trying to stay discreet._

Genkai led us back to her temple after disposing of the demon that tried to attack me, "any idea who sent him after you?"

"He mentioned that he works for a master, Yatsude, but I don't know what he meant by fox," I replied hoping I could convince them it wasn't a lie. Despite Shizuru overhearing my admittance to Genkai I still didn't want either of them knowing about Kurama until they were supposed to meet him.

"Redhead, you don't think he means Kazu, right?" Shizuru tried to hide her worry but it was still evident.

"What would a demon want with a human boy? They would just attack him if they wanted him so badly," Genkai reasoned.

They both eyed me strangely, clearly not believing me that I knew nothing of the situation. Neither of them followed up on it though as we started preparing for dinner. Both probably realizing it was best not to have too much foresight into the future.

As I was chopping the lettuce when Genkai said, "Why does it look like you're about to ask me something really annoying?"

"Can you teach me how to heal?" I asked quickly. "Your powers can do that right? Can you show me?"

"I'm not a nice teacher," she said in warning.

"So I've heard," I replied hoping the conviction in my voice could convince her of my seriousness.

She stared at me up and down and then proceeded to kick me square in the stomach. She sent me flying into the next room and said, "You wanna learn to heal? Start by healing yourself."

"What the fuck just happened?" Shizuru shouted as she went to check on me. "Kid what happened?"

"I don't take weaklings for students, if she wants to learn she better get up first," Genkai commanded. Shizuru, after seeing someone she was in charge of for the weekend get injured, tried her best to punch Genkai but her fist was immediately stopped before making contact. Genkai smirked. "Hm, not bad. If you trained I'm sure you might be able to put up a decent fight."

"Don't worry, Shizuru," I said as I lifted myself off the ground. I chuckled slightly at my sad attempt at my tough girl act. "I asked for it. So how does this whole healing thing work exactly? I could probably use a pointer or two."

There was a glint of excitement that popped out of the corner of Genkai's eyes and a small smirk formed on her lips. Something about the look she was giving as she was eyeing both Shizuru and I up and down was telling me that this weekend was going to be one of the worsts weekends of my life - both pre and post death.

* * *

"You be careful, kid," Shizuru warned as she dropped me off in front of Yusuke's house. "Just because that old lady gave us a few pointers over the weekend doesn't make either of us invincible." She had a similar number of scratches and bandaids plastered to her face, if anything she may have had a few more, but the energy that came off of her seemed powerful, ready to protect her brother at what's to come.

"I know, you be careful too, Shizuru," I replied back. "Thank you for agreeing to this wild and crazy weekend girls trip."

"Yeah, let's just go shopping next time," Shizuru commented. She was still parked in front of the house when she asked me a question. "Will Kazu be okay?"

I paused for a moment before I answered. I hadn't told either her or Genkai about anything that was going to happen, just that I had a vague idea of events that might happen. In fact, I hadn't even specified who would be part of the events that were to come aside from a small hint to Genkai about Toguro. I didn't want to give anything away otherwise I could change everything about the story and I'm still hoping that _I_ hadn't completely derailed everything as is. I looked Shizuru in the eyes and said, "He'll be fine. He is _your_ brother after all."

Looking satisfied she gave me a quick wave and headed off towards the distance.

I was in shambles from the "weekend girls camping trip" I took with Shizuru. I wasn't sure if Yusuke would be home but I figured it was a safer bet coming here looking like this rather than in front of my parents. I rang on the doorbell a few times and when no one answered I decided to take out the hidden key Keiko showed me the last time she and I had tried to drag Yusuke to school.

The smell of empty bottles of alcohol littered the apartment, cans of beer rolled around my foot and the dishes in the sink were left unwashed. I called out to the supposedly empty apartment and when no one answered I continued forward. It was unbelievable that a mother would raise her son in an environment like this. Atsuko was a good person, and after Yusuke's first death she does grow to be a better parent, but looking around it wasn't too surprising that Yusuke turned out to be such a punk. But regardless, I was a woman on a mission, and that mission was to find a first aid kit. Despite Genkai showing me the basics on healing the actual act itself was difficult. Most of the healing practice I did was on Shizuru who decided to take up a bit of martial arts training from Genkai.

Needless to say, this weekend had been nothing close to being a relaxing girls trip.

"Huh, that's different," Atsuko said plainly when she came out her bedroom. "I thought I heard a noise. Thought it'd be my deadbeat son but guess not." She parked herself onto the living room couch and turned on the TV.

"Urameshi-san," I greeted with a slight bow. "Sorry I let myself in, I needed a first aid kit and I knew there was always one here for Yusuke."

"I told you before, kid, call me Atsuko," she said as she flipped through her channels. "Surprising to see you here, usually it's Keiko. You two taking shifts now?"

I made a small murmur acknowledging her comment and once I was able to clean myself up a bit more I went to work at cleaning the apartment. Keiko had made complaints in the past about Yusuke's apartment being a mess, but I had never taken it as seriously as I should have. In the anime they showed the apartment in shambles every time they panned around it, but seeing it up close and personal definitely made it much worse.

"How's Yusuke been lately? I haven't seen him much," She commented. "I usually get the updates from Keiko but since she's not here…"

At least she showed interest in him. "I don't talk to him as much as Keiko does, but he seems to be doing the usual. Picking fights, trying to skip school, flirting with Keiko. Same old, same old."

"The two lovebirds still skirting around each other I see," Atsuko laughed.

"Like I said, same, old same old," I replied.

"Are all your scratches 'same old, same old' as you say?" Her voiced stayed even – nothing accusing, nothing mothering, just an ounce of curiosity.

"I went camping this weekend," I shrugged my shoulders as I finished the first pile of dishes in the sink.

"Mhmm," she murmured as she continued with her television programs. No longer bringing it up. "Pass me a beer would ya?"

I complied, normally not wanting to encourage her drinking habits, but if it meant she wouldn't ask any more questions, so be it. I returned to work, content with the lack of conversation and television for background noise. Before long the clock hit two o'clock and the doorknob started to turn. Yusuke pushed it open, quickly and haphazardly tossing his shoes off.

"Hey, I just cleaned your apartment, at least lay your dirty shoes straight," I threatened holding the knife I was washing in my hands.

"Jesus, stupid, put the damn knife down!" Yusuke shouted, clearly startled by not only my appearance but also the knife in hand. "What the hell are you doing here anyway? You and Keiko taking shifts or something?" Like mother like son.

"No, I just felt like visiting," I answered, putting the knife on the side to dry.

"What happened to your face?" Yusuke asked seeing the scratches on it. "You look horrible."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Gee, thanks. Way to make a girl feel pretty, huh?"

"Relax already, but seriously, what happened to you?"

"She went camping," Atsuko yelled from her couch. "Get me another beer, would ya, son?"

Yusuke griped but still followed his orders. Afterwards he came back to the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboards for some cup noodles. Knowing what he was up to I went ahead and boiled some water and grabbed myself a cup.

"Hey, that's my stash you're taking!" Yusuke protested.

"Relax, I'll buy you more," I grumbled as I opened up the two cups and poured hot water into them.

"Well, you're in a mood today," Yusuke grumbled. "You missing your redhead or something?"

I rolled my eyes and ignored him. After the weekend, I was much too exhausted to argue back with him, but at the mention of Kurama it made me realize something. I smacked my forehead with my hand and shouted, "crap!"

"What's up with you? You're even weirder than your usual," Yusuke complained as he slurped his noodles.

"We're having dinner at his house tonight," I complained. My mind was too exhausted and my scratches, despite looking much better after cleaning them up a bit more, made me too paranoid about seeing him. If he didn't already think something was strange about my lunch with Yusuke then this was definitely concerning.

"Ahh, you don't want your boy to see you so messed up," Yusuke laughed. He's such a—a _dimwit_. I can't wait until Genkai gets her hands on his kid. "Don't worry, battle scars are cool."

"Can I borrow your phone? I need to call my parents," I requested. He pointed me towards their unused office room. Beats me why they even have this room, but better off for me. I dialed my house number and my mother answered almost immediately.

"Tsubaki? Are you back, yet?" she sounded concerned. "How was the camping trip?"

"Yes, I had Shizuru drop me off at Yusuke's," I replied knowing that would be her first concern. "I ended up tripping over some rocks. I'm fine though don't worry. Just a few scratches."

"You're such a klutz," she tutted. "As long as you're okay. What time will you be home? Don't forget about Shiori-san's dinner."

"I didn't. I was thinking about buying her some of that tea that I brought for her birthday last year, she seemed to like it before," I suggested.

"That's a wonderful idea, we can all enjoy it together after the meal," my mothered cooed. "Do you think you'll make it in time?"

"I'm going to stop at the store on my way home, but I want to clean myself up after this weekend, you two go ahead and I'll meet you at their house," I said finally getting to the reason for my call. I wanted more time to prepare myself for meeting Kurama.

"Of course, we'll see you there, honey. But don't be too late," my mother persisted.

After hanging up the phone I made my way towards the door of Yusuke's apartment, "thanks for letting me hang out, Atsuko."

"Anytime kid, feel free to stop by for free child labor whenever you want," she joked from the couch, lifting her hand up in goodbye.

"You're leaving already?" Yusuke asked curiously from the table having already finished with my half eaten cup of ramen.

"Yeah, busy day, I have to go pick up some groceries and then head over to dinner," I answered as I put on my shoes. "Try not to make too big of a mess. I expect those cups in the trashcan, not the floor. Keiko's right, cleaning up after you is exhausting, Yusuke."

"Yeah, whatever you say, Baka. Have fun with your lover boy," he teased as I closed the door on him.

Leave it to Yusuke for being the only one I know who could possibly annoy me the most while also relieving me of stress at the very same time. But despite being the main character, he was the least of my problems at the moment. I hurriedly made my way to the specialty teashop next to our local market. I already knew that Shiori-san was a fan of a particular Jasmine green tea but I also wanted to get something for Kurama. Not only as a thank you for the yearly flowers he grows for me but also as a gift that will hopefully deter him from any suspicious behavior he may have suspected of me.

But what does a fox even like? Eggs?

Don't be silly. I'm in a teashop, why would I buy him eggs? Wait—and just like that a brilliant idea that came to mind. Either brilliant or extremely stupid, but either way it'll serve as a funny inside joke for myself. I roamed through the isles looking for some Sencha Green tea and once I made my purchases I stopped by the market next door to get my gift for Kurama.

By the time I arrived home the sun had begun to start setting. I hurriedly prepared myself. Showering after a long weekend made me feel like a brand new person. I was quickly going through my closet looking for an appropriate Sunday dress when from the corner of the mirror I saw the potted daffodils that Kurama had grown for me this year. The weekend had felt so busy that I hadn't had much time to really think about them or the note that he left attached to the vase.

_'Happy birthday, Yoshino-san. Let's get some yakiniku, sometime, you seemed rather fond of it.'_

Of course, the first time he gives me a note with the flowers and it's to make fun of me. I don't seem to recall him acting so playful so…_human_ in the anime, it's almost throwing me for a loop here. This note he left me was so out of character for him, or was I merely just being exposed to his human side.

Was Kurama playing his own game of pretend?

* * *

_Sorry it was so short after a week and a half of nothing. I really wanted to make it longer but the next part of what I wanted to write worked better if it just went into a separate chapter. Thank you to xenocanaan, Aihi8, kvs419 and Pelawen Night for their reviews and to everyone that chose to add the story to their follow and/or their favorite's list! _

_Next chapter Tsubaki gets to spend some time with the human side of Kurama (insert gasping emoji here) and I'm hoping I'll be able to introduce Tsubaki to a certain fire demon within the next chapter or two! I'm going to try to post next Saturday again but I'm not going to make any promises because unfortunately I work at a pharmacy which means my workplace is getting pretty hectic thanks to COVID-19._

_I hope everyone is staying safely quarantined indoors with their loved ones, __practicing social distancing and good hygiene. Everyone stay healthy, stay home and please be kind to those around you and especially to the people who can't close up shop or work from home. _

_Also **huge thank you** to any and all health care workers, grocery store staff, bankers, postal workers and anyone else who work on the 'frontlines' and are exposing themselves everyday to help those around them!_


	10. Pinky String

**Chapter 9: Pinky String**

I arrived at the Minamino family home at around 5 pm. The sun was just above the horizon and children were hurriedly running back to their houses to prepare for their evening meals. Seeing them run around reminded me of all the times when Keiko and I would chase Yusuke around our neighborhood trying to convinced him to help prepare meals at one of our homes.

Kurama's neighborhood was much more suburban compared to my neck of the woods. There was a small gate separating his front door from the street and just past it I could see the infamous cherry blossom tree that will eventually inspire his win against Shigure when he returns to demon world.

"Haven't seen you in a while," Kurama said from above— standing on the branches of the cherry blossom tree that grew on his front yard. He gracefully jumped down and stood beside me, smiling as if his grace and poise were normal. His smile quickly dissipated though once his eyes locked onto the small bandages I had on my face.

"You're kidding me, right?" I exaggeratedly scolded, hoping I could deter him from asking. "It _has_ to be a crime for someone to be able to jump from trees and land without messing up a single strand of hair."

"You over exaggerate, Yoshino-san," he said politely, running his hands through his short, but growing hair. "But maybe I should get a haircut soon, though?"

"It looks good long," I suggested, thinking about his signature locks from the anime, and when I felt my cheeks start to warm up from the words I just uttered I immediately moved onto a new topic. "Thanks for the flowers this year. I might pass on the yakiniku offer though."

"No? But you seemed to enjoy it so much when I last saw you," his smile looked almost as devilish as Yusuke's when he was up to something.

"You're surprisingly rather cheeky, you know that?" I said pointedly.

"And you're surprisingly quite agile after a bottle of sake," he chuckled.

I paused, checking our surroundings to make sure no one was around us to hear. My friendliest smile was plastered onto my face when I said, "Do me a favor and don't mention that bit of information to anyone, please?"

"Your secret is safe with me," he confirmed and after a moment he asked a question that seemed to be on his mind since he first jumped down from the tree. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, you mean the bandages?" he nodded his head in confirmation and waited as I answered, "Didn't you hear? I went camping and the klutz that I am ended up tripping over a few branches."

His hand reached for the bandage located on my right temple and I instinctively tried to pull away. "Sorry," he said softly. "It just looks bigger than just a trip over a small branch or two."

"Well, unfortunately, not all of us have tree jumping abilities like a certain someone here, _senpai_." I pretended to pout, emphasizing the _senpai_ to let him know that I was just joking around with him. "But you don't have to worry for me, I can handle a scratch or two."

He smiled faintly at my joke as he once again gently put his hand on the bandages on my face. "I know." His silken voice was gentle, not accusing or sarcastic, giving me a sense of trust and…worry? He dropped his hand as quickly as it grazed my face. He looked like he was deep in thought, although nothing gave away what exactly that thought was.

He quickly turned away from me and guided me towards the inside of his house. My face felt flush from his gentle touch leaving me to hope that it wouldn't be noticeable for anyone else in the house.

The house was clean. Too clean. It was easy to tell that Shiori hadn't been home in a while because it was missing that mother's warmth, but I'm sure that's going to change in the coming days now that she'll be treated from home. The smell of food wafted throughout the house and the sound of my mother's humming filtered through the halls.

"Shiori-san! Just relax—let me handle the kitchen—you were just released from the hospital!" I heard my mother insist to Shiori-san.

Kurama – now wearing his Shuichi Minamino face – and I walked into the kitchen ready to alleviate both our mothers of any working duty. Unlike with Shiori-san, my mother had no issues with letting me become her sous chef, which made it much easier to convince Shiori-san to relax at the dining table.

Needless to say my mother was less than impressed when she saw the scratches on my face. I listened to her dawdling reprimand as I finished some of the finishing touches to the dishes my mother had brought over for the Minamino's. Kurama was setting the table as he chatted with his mother. It had been so long since we've had a dinner like this.

Memories of childhood flitted through my mind. Since my Kurama's human father passed away when he was younger and my father is almost always at the hospital working, our mother's really took to each other's company. They would take turns making dinners or babysitting for each other once or twice a month.

It was fun but boy was it stressful trying to keep Kurama separate from my friendships with Yusuke and Keiko. My mother was _definitely_ the mothering type so being a seven year old and trying to explain to her why my friends couldn't play with each other was very difficult. Luckily, Atsuko was never the 'come over for dinner' type and Yusuke always preferred ramen at Keiko's house. And luckily, Keiko's parents were always working at their restaurant, which meant they hardly ever had the time to stop by for dinner.

"Something on your mind?" My mother asked as we brought over the last plates of food to the dining table.

"Just thinking about how we used to do this a lot when we were younger," I sat down at one of the chairs across from Kurama.

"That's right, we used to do this about once a month or so before, we'd do family game night or watch a movie after dinner," Shiori reminisced. "Shuichi was never fun during game night though." Kurama made a face at his mother's playful teasing. "Well, it's true! —You were such a sore winner."

"He always won Uno, was always first to Candy Castle and he always found the best treasures in Mystery Mansion. Such a conniving little thief," I complained. That was when I realized my mistake.

Mystery Mansion had been one his favorite games to play when he was a child and I used to complain each time we played it because he somehow _always_ managed to find the treasures that would win the game. Once a thief, always a thief. But at the mere mention of the word, Kurama's body stiffened, the aura around him darkened ever so slightly and all three of us females noticed almost immediately.

The silence was broken through by my mother's giggle, "Oh, here he comes. You know better than to tease him like this, Tsubaki."

Kurama's face softened at the sound of my mother's reprimand as Shiori and I started laughing. The intensity that comes out of his is incredible, but what was even more incredible was how both our mothers knew exactly how to pivot against the darken turmoil within the boy without even realizing the cause of said turmoil.

"Game Night's Dark Lord," I said the words in English for emphasis, "has returned."

Kurama composed himself again, cleared his throat and said, "Only sore losers can belittle the achievements of winners."

I laughed again, "I hardly think drawing the right card in Uno would count as an achievement."

"Only those who haven't tasted victory would say that," The pride from his voice was clear as day. Kurama – no matter what form – wanted his conquests to be heard throughout the lands, regardless of how small.

"You two are bickering like children when you're both already in middle school," My mother's was shaking but the hand covering her mouth was telling me that she found it amusing.

The rest of dinner was more of the same conversations. Reminiscing of when Kurama and I were younger, talking about school and Shiori's improving health. As we finished up dinner, I stood to remove the empty plates from the table to the kitchen. Kurama started to stand but before he could touch a plate I said, "No! You, sit down, I brought treats."

My mother followed me into the kitchen area to help me prepare the tea. Earlier when I was trying to come up with a gift for Kurama the first witty thing I could think of were egg tarts. It wasn't like I could outright give him a real egg or the usual carcasses of meat that foxes would hunt for, that would be a little too on the nose for my own comfort.

"Here you are," I smiled directly at Kurama. "Egg Tarts! It's from my favorite bakery; the owner owned a restaurant at Hong Kong before moving to Japan. Her name is Rose and she _whips_ up the absolute best egg tarts in Japan!"

I laughed inwardly at my own pun.

"These are good," Kurama said as he went to try a second treat. "Thank you, Yoshino-san."

"Yes, these are delicious, and thank you for the teas. I've really been craving this one, you _have_ to tell me where you buy them so I can have Shuichi buy them for me all the time," Shiori smiled earnestly.

* * *

Washing dishes with Kurama after dinner felt almost too comfortable and natural for my liking. I would wash and he would dry and put them away. It was such a standard routine in most households but the thought of him doing it had never crossed my mind before. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes. He was his usual self whenever I saw him around humans; his face was unassuming but still friendly and helpful. Nothing about him screamed demon in the least.

"Is something on your mind, Yoshino-san?" He asked from beside me.

"Nothing really," I commented looking away. "Just hard to imagine you doing chores around the house."

He chuckled politely beside me, "Am I doing it up to par? Or should I adjust to meet your standards?"

A small smile formed on my face, "Well albeit boring you _are_ doing the job I suppose." I pretended to scrutinize his drying skills. "Where's the fun? The flare? The excitement? I truly expected more from you."

"I'm afraid I'm not really one for flare," he reasoned – a slight frown forming on his face. He made a face as if he were contemplating what to say next. "Perhaps, you can show me. You seem to be rather good at flare and excitement from what I've gathered."

"Oh? And what exactly have you gathered?" I asked curious to find out what he thought of me.

"Hmm," he mused at my straightforward question. "Well, you're certainly unique."

"Hmm—'Unique' you say? I'm not quite sure whether or not to take that as a positive or negative—" I thought for a moment. "Well, since I'm washing a knife in my hand I'll assume you know better to insult me at the moment."

He chuckled again by my side, "and you're quite amusing to add to my lists of observations."

"I suppose that one could _possibly_ be considered as a compliment, although I have been told 'men don't like funny women' so that's still up for debate," I said playfully.

"You're kind," he said softly, his tone shifting ever so slightly to a deeper whisper. I stared at him for a moment; surprised by the sudden serious turn out banter took. He continued to put the dishes away in his kitchen and a part of me wondered which part of his inner psyche was saying this.

"Thank you," I replied quietly as I returned to the task at hand. We continued to clean up together, the silence between us being filled by the sound of our mothers laughing from the living room beside us.

"Should I not have said that?" He spoke softly. His facial features didn't change except for the slight frown he was wearing. "I apologize if I misspoke. Don't think too much of my words."

"You didn't misspeak. I guess sometimes I just don't know how to interpret the words you say," I replied trying my best to be honest about how I was feeling.

"You've done that since we were young," he stated – expression blank and unrevealing. "You always analyze everything I say almost like you're waiting for me to say something."

"Sorry," I said carefully unsure of how to proceed.

"You don't have to apologize," his voice was smooth and even. "I'm just curious to know what you're looking for."

I looked directly into his deep, emerald green eyes. They were darker than how they were portrayed in the anime but something about them looked even more mesmerizing. I've seen him before; I've looked into his eyes before but something about the way his kitchen lights shined made the pools of green reflect brighter than I've ever noticed before.

"Have your eyes always been this green?" I asked surprising even myself at the words I chose to finally say. He averted his gaze from me, the features of his face transformed into a surprisingly innocent and human blush. He didn't reply immediately, instead letting the tone of the ringing phone fill in the silence between us.

"Yoshino—" His sentence was interrupted when Shiori-san called from him. Kurama dried his hands and went to get the phone from his mother.

I was able to finally relax for a few moments. Talking with that boy always leaves me feeling so tense and on edge. It's horrendous. I finished the last of the dishes, disinfected their countertops and after drying my hands I went to sit on the couch beside Shiori-san.

Shiori giggled beside me and whispered into my ears, "A girl is calling the house for the first time for Shuichi."

I burst out into a fit of giggles after seeing the way her eyes lit up at the prospect of her son becoming a teenager. Shiori and I peered just past the doorway to see if we could catch a peek at her son as he speaks to a female over the phone like a pair of high school girls trying to catch a sneak peak of their friend flirting with their crush.

"You two are so childish," my mother chuckled. "I swear you bring out the worst in each other."

Kurama casually strolled back into the living room area taking the lone armchair on Shiori's left. Shiori and I stared wide eyed at him waiting to see if he would speak, my mother just smiled towards him eager to find out who will give in first. Kurama took a sip of the tea that mother had laid out for the four of us to enjoy and stared at Shiori and I through one of his eyes. After another sip he finally spoke, "It was Kitajima-san."

"Oh, Maya-chan? How is she? I haven't been able to catch up with her recently now that school is back in session," I asked earnestly.

"She sounded fine, she was just asking for the notes that she missed when she went to the class representative meetings," he explained to his mother who looked somewhat disappointed that there wasn't a more interesting reason for the phone call.

Shiori placed her chin on the palm on her hand – brows furrowed, concern evident – before saying, "you'll tell me if you start dating, won't you Shuichi?"

"Mother," Kurama shook his head ever so slightly, clearly not liking the conversation that our evening tea was heading towards. "Trust me, I have no current interests on the matter. But yes, if I were to start dating, you'll be the first to know."

"And you'll introduce her to me, right?" Shiori pleased.

Kurama sighed again at his mother's persistence, "Of course, mother."

"Anyone interesting catch your eye yet?" My mother added wanting in on the gossip.

"Interesting?" He paused for a moment, thinking carefully about his next few words, before saying, "Maybe one." His lips curved into a small smirk before getting up and leaving the table to go put his cup in the kitchen, clearly refusing to say more on the subject.

And believe me, I was just as surprised as our mothers reactions.

* * *

"You're _sure_ that you and Shizuru only went camping?" Kuwabara pestered as we were heading towards a café for our weekly study session.

He was still hesitant when it came to the weekend trip Shizuru and I took a few weekends ago. "Yes, I'm sure. She and I were just a little clumsier than usual," I explained.

"Well…_you_ I can believe, no offense. But I've never seen sis trip let along end up with that any scratches," he spoke as if he was trying to figure out the biggest puzzle he's ever come across in his life.

I rolled my eyes at his honest albeit still rude comment towards me, "I'm not _that_ clumsy, but I guess I'm more geared towards brains than grace."

"Which is why you're such a fantastic tutor!" He cheered, now distracted from the scratches that Shizuru came home with a few weeks ago. "Did I show you my last science quiz? I got an 8 out of 10!" his smile widened excited by the prospect of doing well in class.

"Shizuru mentioned it to me before! I'm so proud of you!" I smiled when he pulled out the piece of paper to show me. The edges of the paper were in perfect condition; he had clearly taken care to keep the grade as pristine as possible so he could show me. "But she said your Math is still a little rocky."

He took the seat across from me at the café. "Stupid sister selling me out like that," he muttered under his breath as he pulled out the menu to cover his face.

I chuckled quietly to myself after seeing him so disappointed that his quiz hadn't received as much praise as he thought it would get him. "Tell you what," I started to reason with him. "Since your science grade is going up so much I'll treat you to a milkshake today."

His ears perked up at the prospect of a free treat but then his eyes shifted, looking in the corners to check if I was about to pull some sort of prank out of my ass. "Why do I feel like there's going to be a 'but' coming out of your mouth next?"

"_But_ we're going to go over Math _and_ English today," I smiled knowing that these were his two least favorite subjects of the bunch.

His back slumped over and he laid his head onto the table in front of us, "But I _hate_ those subjects."

"Which is why I offered the milkshake," I smiled as I went to look at the menu myself. "C'mon, it'll be fun. I'll teach you curse words and insults you can use on Yusuke. He won't understand anything you say, it'll be hilarious!"

His back straightened and his eyes fired up with excitement, "make it two milkshakes and you got yourself a deal."

"What? Do I _look_ like I'm made of money? One milkshake plus the insults," I argued back. "_maybe_ some fries but only if we share!"

"Okay, fine," he agreed as he started pulling out his notebooks and the work assignments he'd been given.

Kuwabara was smart, very smart and very willing to learn if given the proper motivation. After tutoring him since the start of the school year I realized that his two biggest motivators were food and, of all people, _Yusuke_. It was unbelievable. He may beat him up every day but Yusuke also served the best way to get Kuwabara to study any subject.

"So you're _sure_ Yusuke doesn't understand English?" Kuwabara confirmed. "I can call him a son of a bitch as much as I want and he won't know?"

"Well, he'll probably figure it out it's a bad phrase based off of your tone but nope, he hates English as much as you do, maybe more" I explained. "What do you say we move onto math now?"

"But you've only taught me one insult!" He complained as he pulled out his math worksheets. He started staring off into space as he tried to work through the different problem sets the teachers had given him. "Hey, Tsubaki, isn't that your friend?"

I turned around and sure enough I saw Maya entering the café with one of her classmates. I tried to remember whether or not I recognized the boy standing beside her but the name of him kept escaping me. From what little I could recall he was the boy that had a crush on her but what was his name?

"Tsubaki-chan!" Maya sauntered towards my table with Kuwabara with her usual happy face. I noticed the boy she was with grabbing a table off to the side, clearly hoping to keep his afternoon with Maya as private as possible. "It's been so long! Kuwabara-kun, too, I haven't seen you since that weird psychic we all saw."

"I know, I haven't been able to do volunteering as much recently," I explained. "I've been trying to focus on my grades a bit more, hence the homework."

"She's also been tutoring me this year!" Kuwabara bragged proudly. "She's the absolute best, my science grade has gone up almost two letter grades compared to last year!"

"That's wonderful news," Maya congratulated. "We're doing a small group project here too. Minamino-san will be coming later on actually. He said he was trying to run an errand so he'd be a little late."

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity-fuck-fuck.

"That's good, his mother is always saying how he needs to spend more time with friends," I commented. It _was_ true after all. Shiori is always concerned about her son developing well with society. Why else would a mother look forward to her son eventually dating? "We were just finishing up here actually."

"We were? But we just started the math problems." Kuwabara said nonchalantly. Clearly Yusuke was the one for quick getaways, not him.

"But you kept complaining about math. I figured we could take a break," I commented hoping I could entice him into leaving.

"But sis told me not to come home until I could guarantee her that _all_ my grades would increase, and she's been scarier than usual lately," he shivered for emphasis.

Maya looked back to her table and noticed that another girl had sat down with the boy she came in with and since their group wasn't complete yet she ended up sitting down on the chair beside me.

"You and your sister have psychic abilities, right?" Maya asked remembering from the day she got to meet him. "Can I ask you guys a question that _might_ be a little personal?"

So much for my quick getaway.

"Sure, go right ahead, I'm an open book," Kuwabara said doing his best to be friendly. He had mentioned to me before that he thought Maya was cute, and if real life Kuwabara was anything like anime Kuwabara, he definitely had a slight crush on her, nothing big enough to derail all of canon and break his red pinky string of love for Yukina, but still a crush.

"What did you guys think about the fortunes that the psychic gave us?" she asked quietly.

"Still no 'Queen of Cups' for me," Kuwabara said sadly while looking at his pinky. "I've been going to ice cream shops, and water parks but nothings been tugging at my pinky."

I couldn't help but laugh a little, "I don't think she meant it literally when she said ice and water."

"What about you Tsubaki? What do you think about her?" Maya asked looking directly into my eyes.

"Well, I didn't really get anything specific aside from maybe the Six of Cups, but Shiori-san is out of the hospital now so I don't think it's about Shuichi like you thought," I commented. "What are you trying to figure out?"

"She told me eight months right? Eight months and then something is going to change? Something I've been chasing will fall through," she explained her worry. "Well, what if I don't _want_ to wait eight months?"

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously on what she was trying to explain.

"I think I want to confess to Minamino-san," she said in a whisper so quietly that Kuwabara and I almost missed it.

"You should do it!" Kuwabara said nodding his head and agreement. "Nothing can fool the red pinky string of love so if this isn't the calling then doing it can only lead you closer to your one true love."

"Right! That's what I was thinking? Why agonize for another four months when I could get it over with?" She nodded along with Kuwabara.

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but what if her reading doesn't have anything to do with boys?" I commented.

"Well, regardless, I don't want to keep waiting," she said confirming her position, and right on queue, the bell for the café opened and in walked in a very familiar and elegant redhead.

Fuck.

Kuwabara looked at him and made the immediate connection. He mouthed '_that's him_' to me and when I nodded all he could do was give a thumbs up to Maya causing her to blush profusely.

"Minamino-san!" Maya called out happily causing him to head our way.

Fuck.

"Why do you look so pale, Tsubaki?" Kuwabara asked curiously. "Are you sick or something?"

"Nothing, Kuwa-chan," I smiled despite knowing that I was about to break all of canon at the moment.

"You're acting funny," he commented as he took a fry from our shared plate and popped it into his mouth.

"She always acts funny," Kurama commented when he reached my table. "Yoshino-san."

"Minamino-san," I said trying to keep my voice as normal as I possibly could. "Good to see you again."

"I'm glad your scratches are looking better," he commented. "I actually just stopped by your mother's flower shop but she wasn't there today."

"Were you looking for flowers, Minamino-san?" Maya asked him.

"You could say that, I supposed," he smiled as if he was amused by his own personal inside joke that he wasn't going to explain. His head turned towards Kuwabara and he bowed politely and introduced himself. "Minamino, Shuichi, nice to meet you."

Kuwabara looked slightly flustered by the polite bow. He wasn't used to getting such a polite and well-mannered greeting from others, most of the time people either ran from him or were trying to punch him in the face. He eventually bowed and replied back with a simple, "Kuwabara, Kazuma."

And just like that, six years of trying to keep Kurama away from Yusuke and Kuwabara went completely down the drain.

"You two have a project, right?" I commented. "We don't want to keep you two occupied now that your group is complete. We have to head out anyway, right, Kuwa-chan?" I gave him my sternest look, which made him start packing up his notes and books up faster.

"Wait, Yoshino-san, can I talk to you for a moment?" He asked as Kuwabara and I started picking up our bags.

Kuwabara looked at me for a moment and when I nodded my head at him he said, "I'll go ahead and pay then."

I tried handing him my wallet, "For the milkshakes."

He refused saying, "Don't worry, it's on sis today." He sauntered off towards the counter to pay and I knew for a _fact_ that it would not be on Shizuru and that he's going to cry about it later.

"I'll tell the group that you'll be right over," Maya replied walking off towards the group that was waiting over at one of the booths on the other side of the café.

"Did you need something, Shuichi?" I asked hoping I'd be able to get this conversation over with fast enough for me to get Kuwabara out and hopefully still keep canon somewhat in tact.

"I was actually looking for you at the flower shop earlier," he admitted. One of his hands reached into his pocket and he pulled out a small jar. "It took a bit of time for me to collect all the ingredients, but it's a homemade salve for the cuts you got from camping."

I accepted the small jar; no doubt it was laced with energies and different herbs that would speed up healing for all the cuts and bruises. The healing techniques that Genkai had taught me were working well enough, but I was nowhere near strong enough or aware enough in order to heal myself completely.

"Thank you," I said opening up the concoction he gave to me so I could smell it. It smelled like mint and aloe. It was unassuming but from what I've learned about Kurama from my years of Yu Yu Hakusho obsession I knew that anything unassuming about Kurama could also be dangerous if you aren't careful.

"It wasn't just that," he continued. "I need a small favor."

"_You_ asking _me_ for a favor?" Color me shocked. "Say it ain't so, the mighty Shuichi is actually asking someone for help?"

"It's mother's birthday in a few weeks and no matter what I do I can't seem to find a proper gift," he said looking somewhat frustrated. "It's incredible how—_frustrating_ it is shopping for females."

A fit of giggles burst out from my mouth. _The_ Kurama, Youko Kurama, master thief, can't find a present for his human mother.

"It's really no laughing matter," he sighed at my reaction.

"Sorry, I don't mean to laugh. It's just that I _never_ expected you to ask me for help on anything let alone something like _this_," I tried to contain my giggles. "But of course, I'll help you."

"Thank you, I'll call your house later today and we can figure out where to meet," he smiled and walked off towards his classmates.

* * *

Kuwabara came back over and the two of us walked out of the café trying to figure out what to do next. Sometimes after our study sessions we would go to a karaoke booth or head to the arcade but since Kuwabara decided to be gentleman and pay for our food we decided against it. We ended up wandering around until we made it to the park that we spent a lot of our childhood playing at.

"We met here," I commented. "I was trying to race Yusuke when a 10 year old wearing a pompadour went running past me crying about a ghost."

"Hey, she was a creepy ghost, always just _staring_ at me," he shivered remembering her. "Always gave me a case of the tickles but my dad kept insisting it was okay and he kept telling Shizuru to take me here."

"Well she ended up giving you a pretty damn good tutor if I say so myself," I smiled.

He chuckled softly as we watched the kids playing on the playground the way we used to when we were younger. "Thanks for believing me that day."

"Thanks for chasing Yusuke around with your stick sword when he tried to claim me birthday cake," I laughed.

He laughed along, "That was the first time Urameshi beat me up."

"Yeah, but then Shizuru scared the crap out of him after she saw he beat you up," I said remembering the rest of that day. "I think that's one of the reasons why she never really liked me as a kid, because I introduced you to a punk like Yusuke."

"Sis likes you, she just likes to pretend to be a hard ass," he smirked. "So what's the deal with that Shuichi guy?"

"What do you mean?" I asked hoping we could've avoided that topic.

"Well, from what I've heard he's been your friend for years but I've never met him," he analyzed. "He's never been to a birthday party or holiday party or just to hang out."

"He's just not really a hang out sort of guy," I commented. "His mother was sick for a while so it was difficult to make things work, I guess."

"Oh, sorry to hear that," He paused thinking for a moment before smiling brightly and asking, "So is he the redhead Urameshi mentioned before."

The palm of my hand couldn't hit my forehead hard enough to knock out the stupidity of his comment, "Yes, but I don't like him the way Yusuke thinks I do. Let me make that clear to you right now."

"You sure about that?" He tried to tease. "I've never seen your face go pale from _anything_."

"I'm sure," I replied a little more seriously that I intended. "I'm completely sure that my pinky is completely string-less." I held up my pinky to make my point.

"Don't be such a downer, everyone has a one true love!" Kuwabara said firmly.

"Yeah, maybe _one_ true love," I said it wistfully, my mind tracing itself back to my past life picturing the boyfriend I had before I passed away and it left me to wonder just where this life was going to take me.

If the pinky string theory was true then it looks like mine had been destined to be cut short.

* * *

_Surpriseeee! I was surprised myself by the completed chapter but honestly, the state of the world keeps making my head spin to the point where escaping reality and just writing this has become very therapeutic. _

_Thank you to kvs419, xenocanaan, eximious and Pelewan Night for the reviews and the people who added me to their favorites/follows, it really does make me genuinely happy and motivates me to keep writing and keep on going._

_Also on a small side note, I feel like the characters are starting to feel a little OOC even for myself and my writing, but I like to think of it as Tsubaki's influence on the group as a whole. I do have an idea of some of the canon changes that I want Tsubaki to go through and experience and hopefully those changes will explain why the characters might be behaving a little differently compared to the anime/manga. Hopefully it isn't too off putting for people._

_Stay safe and stay healthy everyone!_


	11. Tadhana

**Chapter 10: Tadhana**

* * *

_The leaves on the trees had begun to change. Autumn, my favorite season, brought about some of the most beautiful sights imaginable in Connecticut. My boyfriend and I were hiking up the Appalachian Trail, we weren't doing the whole half year trail hike – I would never survive it – but we were doing a simple day hike up towards a light house on the Connecticut portion of the trail._

_ "Are you sure you want to keep going? You seem more tired than usual," my unknowing boyfriend asked as we rested on a medium sized boulder laying on the edge of the trail._

_ He was aware of my medical history, but I'd left him fairly oblivious to my current situation. Actually, I'd left most people out of my current situation aside from my doctor who informed me of my cancer recurrence. Once I said it out loud the diagnosis would be real and this was a hike I wanted to complete before I would be permanently strapped to a hospital bed for the remainder of my life._

_ Beating cancer once was a miracle, beating it again, unfortunately, was unlikely._

_ "I want to finish this," I said determinedly as I took one final sip of water._

_ The truth was that one of my goals when I was younger was to be able to complete the full half-year journey through this trail, but alas, it was not meant to be. That would only be a dream, but the least I could do to satisfy my younger self's ambitions was to complete just one trail on this inconceivable, multi-state, trek._

_ By the time we reached the top I had sweated through almost every layer of clothing I was wearing. My boyfriend, bless his heart, wanted to carry me back down but when he saw the look on my eyes he continued upwards. We finally made it to the top of our trail and we reached the lighthouse, a sign of our end goal. The change in elevation sent small flecks of snow falling down from the sky._

_ "Did it come back?" he asked me softly as he held my hand, not for comfort but to check for my pulse. "You always said that this trail was your end goal, so is this the end?"_

_ Most would tell me to keep hope and that 'modern medicine is on your side' but he knew better. He knew _me_ better. He knew that what I wanted and needed was reality because that was the only place I could go that would keep me sane._

_ "Thank you," I said as I placed my head onto his shoulder – partly from exhaustion but mostly because it was where my head belonged._

_ He looped his pinky around mine._

_ "I'm not going anywhere," he was staring out over the outlook contemplating his next words. Then, suddenly, he started chuckling as he turned his head and smiled widely towards me. "Kuwabara's pinky string of love stands no chance against mine!"_

* * *

I woke up sad.

There was no other way to explain what I was feeling. My body felt heavy and the world around me felt like it was crashing down directly onto my chest, weighing it down to the point where breathing was difficult. How does a thirteen-year-old body react to such painful and intense feelings and memories? This was goddamn awful.

It took all the strength I could muster up to lift myself out of bed when the phone started ringing. Saturday mornings usually left me alone at the house. Father hardly ever got a true day off from the hospital and mother's garden was usually busier on weekends when she prepares for their flea market booths during springtime.

"Hello, Yoshino residence," I spoke evenly hoping my voice didn't sound too tired.

"Tsubak. It's Maya," she spoke softly and quietly. "Can we talk?"

"Of course, what's going on?" I replied feeling concerned by her early morning phone call.

"Not on the phone," she paused for a moment when footsteps in the background passed behind her. "I know it's last minute but can we meet up today?"

"I have Tai Chi lessons in the evening but I'm free in the afternoon," I explained trying my best to make my schedule as free as possible.

"My school still has Saturday classes in the morning, but I should be done by eleven," she stated.

"I'm lucky and my school only has Saturday lessons every other week." The idea of Saturday lessons still pisses me off just like it did even when I was in elementary school. "I can meet you at your school gate and we can go get some food after you're done?"

"That would be perfect," She let out a sigh of relief. "I'll see you then, thank you again."

"Is everything okay, Maya?" I asked again still unsure about letting the conversation end just like that.

"I'm just going to make a really big decision today and I think I could really use a friend afterwards," she said the words quickly afraid that someone will overhear her.

"You don't mean that you're—?" I let the words hang in the air hoping she would understand where I was going.

"Yup! I'm not going to wait eight months to find my own answer!" she sounded confident. _Too confident_. And I didn't know how to explain to her that this might not be the smartest idea. "Thanks for listening! I'll see you later!"

I heard a quick giggle before she hung up on me.

_Oh no._

I'm watching canon break as we speak and I can't do anything about it. My arm was stinging with remnants of the scratches I formed while on the phone with Maya. A residual bad habit formed in my previous life. Whenever anything stressful happened to me I just instinctively…itch.

My first mother used to berate me constantly about it. There were times when I would scratch to the point where my skin would be bright red and scars would form as a result of it. It wasn't "proper" for a lady to have so many scratches. Of course, I always had scratches on myself, if not from my own self inflicted scratches then from my IV's and poor immune system.

The marks on my skin today weren't the worst I've ever gotten, but they still weren't pretty. But regardless of the state of my skin I needed to start my day.

And this was going to be a long, _long_ day.

* * *

I arrived at the gate to Maya's school earlier than I expected. The dream I had last night left me wide awake and unable to get back to sleep after. Not only that but the thought of Maya confessing to Kurama and potentially breaking canon left my mind agitated.

Kurama and Hiei meet and team up for the first time because Kurama wanted to save Maya from Yatsude after she was captured. If this confession happens now verses later then what happens? Do they not become allies? Then what about Shiori? How will she live if Hiei never gets a chance to entice Kurama with the mirror of forlorn hope?

My nails started digging into my wrists.

"Hey, cutie, waiting for someone?" A boy, I recognized as the same one from the manga and Maya's group project, asked me with a big smile. He didn't come across as creepy or even flirty, just as an over confident teenaged boy.

"I'm waiting for my friend, Maya Kitajima." I replied hoping he'd be able to give me an idea on how long Maya would be taking.

"Oh, you're a friend of Maya's?" his eyes averted mine – slight blush forming on his cheeks. "She –uh –she should be out soon." He tried to glance at me without being too obvious and suddenly his eyes went wide. "You were at the café a few days ago, weren't you?"

"Um—yeah. I was trying to study with my friend there. My name is Tsubaki Yoshino," I introduced myself with a slight bow.

"You can call me Tasaka," he smiled. Pointing his thumb towards his chest like a typical confident Shonen character.

"Do you know what's taking Maya-chan so long?" I asked after seeing a few more students exiting out the building.

Tasaka's face puckered in disfavor, eyes rolling at a topic that he clearly didn't want to admit to. "She's _talking_ to someone." His voice sounded annoyed and it made it clear that he wasn't talking to me just to be nice and helpful.

"Ahh—that's why you're still talking to me," I stated. "You're hoping that if you talk to me for long enough you'll be able to find out how her conversation with this…_someone _went."

"No!" his face turned crimson – the exact opposite of what he was trying to prove to me. "I don't particularly care." His voice was stuttering as he tried to mutter out excuses to me. "She's just a classmate, I'm just trying to help a classmate out by keeping her friend company while she waits—"

I held my hand up in an attempt to stop him from further embarrassment. "I understand—"

"Seriously, I—" he stopped when I placed my hand on his shoulders.

"I _said_, I understand. Say no more, I appreciate you keeping me company," I smiled. "You're a good classmate to my friend."

His shoulders relaxed and a sigh of relief escaped his mouth, "So, just because I'm curious, you know Minamino, don't you? You were talking to him at the cafe."

"Yeah, I do. Our mothers are friends with each other," I explained curious to find out what he was trying to figure out.

"So—like—what's his _deal_ exactly?" he asked much more openly than the conversation previously. He wasn't averting his gaze from mine anymore and he sounded like he was ready to get down to the nitty gritty.

My eyebrows raised upwards feigning confusion, "what do you _mean_ exactly?"

"Just—why is he so…weird?" he crossed his arms across his chest and made a face like he was trying to figure out what he was trying to say. "Well, he's not exactly weird, but just—how is he so…_?_"

"Perfect?" I attempted hoping that was the word he was trying to get at.

"Yeah!" he nodded his head furiously in agreement. "It almost gives me the willies just how perfect he does everything. And it's so aggravating!"

I laughed at the faces he was making. "He's not perfect. He just likes to put on a show, mostly for his mother, I think. He's actually a bit of a Momma's Boy."

"Really?" he sounded surprised by the words I was saying. "Tell me more."'

But before I could we noticed two figures walking awkwardly towards us. Maya's face was blushing slightly and judging from the distance and lack of words being spoken between them led me to believe that Maya had made her confession.

Kurama – or should I say Shuichi – was the first to notice us, "Yoshino?"

"_Senpai_," I bowed formally hoping to ease any awkward tensions between Kurama and Maya.

"Tsubaki," Maya said as she recovered from, what I'm assuming, was a fairly traumatic conversation between her and Shuichi. "Thanks for coming to meet me."

"No problem," I smiled. "Do you want to get going?"

"Sure," she smiled and then her eyes darted towards the boy standing beside me. "Oh, Tasaka-kun?"

Tasaka's body slumped over slightly, disappointed that his crush had only _just_ noticed him. "Hi, Kitajima-san."

"Tasaka here has been super nice by keeping me company while I was waiting for you," I slapped his shoulder hoping to perk him up. "I didn't know you had such a gentleman for a classmate."

A small blush formed on Tasaka's face, not used to compliments by girls.

"I'll only take mild offense to that, Yoshino," Kurama griped.

"Sorry, Senpai, but I've _seen_ how competitive you get when it comes to board games. I wouldn't exactly call a sore winner a gentleman."

Kurama sighed. Whether in disappointment or annoyance I wouldn't be able to tell.

Maya giggled beside me the way she usually does once my friendly banter with Kurama gets going. "Tsubaki-chan and I are going to a café, would you like to come with us, Minamino-kun? You too, Tasuka, if you want."

It was hard to evaluate her face. Judging from their entrance it didn't look like the best outcome had happened to Maya, but her friendly invitation left me feeling confused. Wouldn't most people want to avoid their crush after being rejected?

Or was she not rejected?

Kurama's eyes showed a bit of surprise by her invitation. The corners of his mouth moved downward. "Probably best if I didn't follow." He said the words politely but it was the clear evidence I was looking for.

He rejected her.

"Yeah," Maya nodded, doing her best to stop herself from looking disappointed.

"Well, I'll come!" Tasaka smiled, clearly missing the visible cues coming from the two of them. "We should do karaoke too!"

I sighed. No matter which world I end up in, it was clear that teenaged boys are hopelessly oblivious in all of them. I turned to Kurama and said, "We should get going then. Tell your mother I said hello."

"I will," he said the words softly and he was making the same face he usually makes when he wants to ask me a question without being too obvious about it. For a clever thousand year old spirit, he sure did falter a lot when it came to people.

"Did you want to ask me something?" I asked before we all turned away.

"Um—well. Mother's birthday…?" he said the words hesitantly.

"Right. I have time tomorrow to help you shop for her. Is that okay?" I said the words quickly hoping the planned meeting wouldn't upset Tsubaki. He quickly nodded his head knowing the awkward predicament he might be placing us in. "Okay, good. See you then, Senpai!"

And with that Kurama walked in the opposite direction and the three of us made our way towards a nearby café.

* * *

"I'll—uhh, I'm gonna go use the bathroom," Tasaka said nervously from behind his menu. Stupid boy shouldn't have invited himself along.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked Maya once Tasaka was out of earshot.

"I confessed," she admitted. "He didn't say much about it. I think I put him on the spot. He just said 'Sorry' and I told him I didn't need to hear anything else."

"I'm sorry. "I sighed. "I think you're the first girl that's ever gotten the courage to confess to him. I'm guessing he didn't know what to say at the moment."

She laid her head down on the table and sighed, "it doesn't even matter if he said anything else. If he was super nice about it then I would still be wishing for more and if he was a jerk then I would hate _myself_ for even falling for him. He was just…disappointing? Does that even make sense?"

"Disappointing because he didn't feel the same, or—?"

"Just disappointing. I kept imagining him as a perfect prince type but he's just, not." She sounded frustrated trying to put her emotions into perspective.

"I think I understand. You built up this person thinking they're perfect and then he just ends up being just sort of average, not serving up to par on the standard you expected."

"Yeah! Exactly, but now I just feel like I wasted so much time liking someone who wasn't even worth it, and yet I'm still sad about it."

As is the conundrum of one's first love.

"Don't worry, just follow my helpful steps and I'll have you back in tip top shape," I smiled excited that my day of heartbreak would have a friend to join in with me.

Maya's face looked confused for a moment. It was caught somewhere between fear and excitement, unsure of where the rest of her day would lead her. When Tasaka returned I gave Maya my first bits of instructions when I told her to go freshen up in the bathroom.

"Is she okay?" he asked me after Maya left.

"I'm sure you can probably guess what happened," I waited for Tasaka's nod before I continued. "Okay, perfect. So just go along with my plans for the day and we can definitely cheer her up."

He nodded his head again waiting for me to continue with my plans. I love this kid. My knowledge of him from the manga was just that small piece of the one shot in the manga plus the special anime OVA and all I knew about him before today was that he had a crush on Maya. But meeting him today almost instantly shot him up to Kuwabara levels in terms of my 'characters I must protect' list. He just sat beside me patiently waiting for my orders so he can do his part to help cheer up Maya Kitajima.

"You know what? I like you, you're such a good guy," I acknowledged causing him to blush a little. "Okay, but first things first. Order four of the biggest sundaes they have on the menu when the waitress comes around. I gotta go make a phone call."

Reinforcements were key during my mission for the day, and what better reinforcements than the queen of handling a stupid teenaged boy than my very best friend Keiko Yukimura.

"So what do I do?" Tasaka asked after I told him that a friend was coming to join.

I debated on whether Maya would want him to leave but in order for my three step process to work out I needed him to stay. "Just keep the day light unless she wants to talk about it, don't ask questions and just try to make it as casual as possible."

"Roger, Commander!" He saluted towards me causing me to laugh.

"Okay, so I have three steps, and this first one is _crucial_ to how the rest of the day goes," I said starting to explain.

**Step 1: Ice cream.**

"Are you sure we need this much ice cream?" Maya asked hesitantly after I ordered four orders of sundaes. "And why four?"

"I invited Keiko to join us while you were in the bathroom," I smiled. "She should be here soon."

And right on cue the door opened revealing Keiko.

"I came as soon as I heard!" Keiko said quickly rushing to the table. "I haven't had one of Tsubaki's three step program days in so long!" She grabbed one of the ice creams from the table and happily started digging in.

"Three step program?" Maya asked eye seemingly starting to twitch. "Am I at some sort of AA meeting or something?"

"We used to do it a lot when we were kids," Keiko giggled. "Every time Yusuke did something stupid and made me cry, Tsubaki and I would have one of these days to cheer ourselves up."

"Is it…safe?" Maya asked hesitantly.

"For the most part," Keiko said trying to reassure Maya. "The first step is the best part, the second step can be a bit painful but the third part is the best and then you'll feel instantly better!"

"I'm Tasaka, by the way," Tasaka said shyly trying to insert himself into the gaggle of girls he somehow found himself surrounded by.

"Ah, call me Keiko!" Keiko said is her friendliest voice. "Nice to meet you."

"So what exactly is the first step?" Maya asked.

"Ice cream!" Keiko and I said in sync with one another.

"And you better eat up," Keiko commanded. "The second step is going to hurt."

"It's not that bad," I said trying to reassure Maya. "But to be honest with you, a part of me is kind of glad that you called this morning. I didn't exactly wake up on the right side of the bed today so having a day like this with good people is definitely what I needed as well."

"What happened?" She asked sincerely.

"Just a bad dream," I replied thinking about my dream from last night. "But enough about that. Step 1 is all about enjoying good albeit slightly unhealthy food. Enjoying things you like kick starts your endorphins."

"You're going to be hearing that word a lot today," Keiko warned.

Maya shrugged her shoulders and decided to just go with the flow grabbing her sundae and digging in.

"Well I'm stuffed," Maya smiled happily as she finished eating some of the fries that we ordered as an afterthought. "So far this whole three step program of yours is working. Bring on step 2!"

"You better watch your mouth, Maya-chan," Keiko warned.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Maya gulped as she saw me smiling my most innocent of smiles.

**Step 2: Exercise**

When we were younger I would force Keiko to go running with me whenever she needed one of these 'three-step program' days. And while I do enjoy being able to run in this lifetime I instead took the group to my Tai Chi lessons. Genkai had suggested it when I went to her compound for the weekend. I had tried to get Shizuru to join me but she complained that it was too slow for her to enjoy instead opting for a mixed martial arts group that she somehow found.

The lessons were open to the public and the sensei for it was surprisingly young when I first discovered him. The dojo was fairly small, which made sense since most of the lessons took place in the garden behind it. The sensei in charge said that it was easier for him to feel the healing energy around him when he was surrounded by nature.

"Tai Chi is all about natural movements of the body, so what's more natural than the great outdoors," he said calmly as he started breathing in. "Now, let's start tapping our bodies to get the energy flowing through us."

"She used to make me run laps with her, you're getting off easy here," Keiko complained as she started tapping at her shoulders and arms.

"Tai chi is a very healing form of martial arts," I commented. "It's been used as a form of Chinese medicine. Tapping helps the chi within us move clearing out blockages that disrupt the energy flow. This will definitely get you all the endorphins your body needs."

"Karate might have been a better option. It's more exciting," Tasaka said as he went along with the slow movements that the instructor was giving us.

One of the other reasons why I've continued doing this the last few weeks, and why I wasn't willing to miss a lesson, was also because of another interesting factoid that I've discovered while I was here. Three of the disciples were connected to the groups future. Kaito, Asato and Yana, the three psychics who eventually gain powers during Sensui's take over, were part of this group. None of them spoke to each other and I've yet to make a casual conversation with any of them, but seeing them was interesting. They looked slightly different from their anime appearance. Hairstyles shorter, faces slightly younger and less cartoonish, but it was definitely them.

I had no intention to making contact with them as of yet, I had enough difficult characters to keep track of as it is. Not only that but today's focus was on Maya and no one else.

"Who were you staring at the entire class?" Maya asked from beside me as the group of us walked out of the dojo.

"No one," I replied trying to get the conversation away from my inability to insert myself into a story that doesn't belong to me. "I was just surprised that there were so many regulars coming to the class."

"You sure? It definitely looked like you were looking at the boys in class," Keiko laughed.

"I've told you a million times already, I don't have any crushes on anyone," I rolled my eyes at them. "But did you like the class?"

"I loved it," Maya's eyes lit up. "You were definitely right about how healing it is. My energy is definitely flowing much better than before."

"Really? It was relaxing but I thought it got pretty boring," Tasaka argued.

"But didn't you feel the chi moving through you better?" Maya asked in her usual cheer.

"I still don't really get the whole 'aura' think you always talk about in class," Tasaka shrugged his shoulders. "Aliens I can get behind, but I don't know about the whole energy thing. I guess seeing is believing for me."

"And you've seen aliens?" I asked laughing along.

"Crop circles!" Tasaka shouted out loudly.

"But don't you think it could just be someone making it themselves just to get a bit of news coverage? Like people who tag corners of streets," Keiko argued.

"But how do you explain the ones that look like perfect circles with no entries or exits? Or the pictures on the back of our local news papers? Some of them look _too_ real to be faked!" Maya said backing up Tasaka.

Keiko and I started falling behind the two of them as they started going on about the local paper that had a section for conspiracy theorists who wanted to share their own stories.

"Is this step three?" Keiko whispered quietly into my ears.

I nodded my head happy that she understood where I was going with this day. "I can't force it but the two of them are giving me a good feeling. Were you able to contact Yusuke?"

She nodded her head, "Step 3 is a go. He'll be at the station with Kuwabara." Then after a moment she added, "You always said that step 3 is matchmaking but with me you would just stick me in a karaoke room with Yusuke," Keiko pouted as we continued observing the two classmates.

"Well yeah, because you two are destined for each other," I laughed. "I got you almost every time I said 'I'll introduce you to your next prince charming' even though it always ended with you and Yusuke together," I smiled to myself thinking about the happy and peaceful childhood moments we all experienced together. "During the big fights, Yusuke would end up proposing to you."

"We were so young and innocent before," Keiko shook her head, probably feeling embarrassed about some of the antics Yusuke would try on her.

"You're still young and innocent, Keiko," I said the words so softly that they got lost in the wind that blew past us.

**Step 3: Karaoke (AKA matchmaking) **

Kuwabara and Yusuke were waiting at the station I told them to meet us at. In order for Step 3 to be a total success I needed the help of Kuwabara – the ultimate karaoke fanatic – and Yusuke – my number one getaway driver. The two were bickering like always but clearly doing their best to be civil knowing that Keiko and I were requesting their assistance.

This would be their first mission together.

I waved at the two of them, introduced them to Tasaka and once everyone was acquainted, I made my announcement. "Time for my last and final step," I smiled at the group once we were all gathered at the corner of the street. I pointed towards the buildings of karaoke booths.

"Karaoke?" Maya said surprised. "Okay, the first two made sense but this one just seems random. I think you're making this all up as you go along."

"Nothing better than singing your heart out to get more endorphins into your system!" I laughed as I ushered the group into the karaoke booth.

The truth was that the third step was usually when I try to help my friends get over their crushes (unless you're Keiko in which case I have her make up with Yusuke) and what better way than showing them they had other options? But as far as Tasaka and Maya knew my third step would be about karaoke.

"It's great for the lungs, great for the soul and just plain fun and ridiculous so let's just go ahead and party it up!"

Kuwabara took charge the way I knew he would. Instantly, and excitedly, ready to introduce Tasaka and Maya to his love of Megallica, both of whom looked unsure but ready to go with the flow that our emcee for the night set up.

"No one wants to listen to your songs, numbskull," Yusuke argued grabbing the remote from Kuwabara's hand. "What these two need are some badass beats like _Dead or Alive~ Toushin_!"

"I swear that's the only song you know, Urameshi. You're just mad that you don't understand English," Kuwabara fought back control over the remote. "Now, as I was saying, _Master of Puppets_ is an incredible song, especially when I sing it!"

Yusuke grabbed the remote back from him, "No one cares about your damn English lessons with idiot over there!"

"Enough!" Keiko yelled instantly putting a stop to the argument between the two of them and placed the arguing boys into separate corners of the room. Yusuke beside me and Kuwabara on the other side of Tasaka.

"She's such a nag, I just wanted to sing my damn song," Yusuke murmured beside me.

Keiko handed the remote and the microphone over to Maya who decided to let fate take the wheel and chose a song at random. "It'll be more fun this way!"

The group quickly adjusted to one another after a few renditions of some Japanese classic karaoke favorites as well as a few of my favorite American classics. Yusuke continued to keep ordering food and drinks and even agreed to sing one love song after Keiko kept pleading with him.

"Thanks for the fun day, Tsubaki," Maya whispered beside me. "You know, I really expected to be super sad all day today but you really cheered me up. I think your three-step plan really worked."

"You're not upset anymore?" I asked wanting to confirm that I did my best for the surprising friend I made in this crazy world.

"I'm still upset but I don't think he was my destined one. What did Kuwabara-kun say the other day? 'Nothing can fool the pinky string of love' so I guess our pinkies just weren't connected. I just wish I could've figured it out before I embarrassed myself like that," she sighed as she slumped backwards into her seat.

"That Little Thing called tadhana," I said quickly without even realizing that the word had escaped my mouth.

"Tadhana?" She asked.

"Oh, it means destiny is Tagalog – the national language of the Philippines," I replied. "It's a story I heard once before, a girl loses her boyfriend of 8 years and goes to search for 'where broken hearts go' with the help of another guy." I wasn't sure why I was explaining this movie that won't come out for at least another 25 years."She always believed in letting the wind blow her to where it was supposed to lead her and I guess 'tadhana' ended up leading her to someone else." I liked to believe that Mace and Anthony ended up together. "But the story ended up leaving it pretty open ended. The girl decided to start forgetting about her ex boyfriend but the ex ends up showing up at the end and the story never revealed who ended up with who." I crossed my arms in frustration thinking about the sudden end to one of my favorite movies.

"Was that supposed to cheer me up?" Maya asked confused on what my hurried explanation was supposed to mean.

"I swear that story was going somewhere," I said laughing to myself at how caught up I got in thinking about one of my favorite movies in my previous life. "But the point is that sometimes an arrow pierces your heart but the arrow doesn't always stay there and sometimes you're the arrow that pierces someone else's heart, but either way you'll be fine. Things will work out the way they're supposed to!"

"….what?" Maya asked again.

"Nothing. Forget what I was trying to say," I laughed at myself and the awful advice I was trying to give. "I think it's my turn to sing!"

I got up from my seat and grabbed the microphone from Yusuke. I sang _Don't Stop Believin'_ by Journey, my signal for Yusuke that our plan was about to commence. Yusuke whispered quietly into Tasaka's ear causing him to turn slightly red – no doubt from something vulgar that Yusuke said about his relationship with Maya.

Then he quickly announced, "Stupid English songs are such a drag, but at least it ain't Megalica." Perfect, that'll definitely get Kuwabara riled up.

"You wanna try saying that again, Urameshi?" Kuwabara shouted at his instigation directly as planned.

"You tryna fight me on that? Why don't we take this outside," he smirked exactly as planned. Kuwabara followed him outside ready to fight him and unknowingly helping my plan move along to the final phases.

"Oh no, the two of them are going to break something, we should go check on them, Tsubaki," Keiko performed her lines perfectly.

"You're right," I followed up with the lines I'd rehearsed earlier. "Besides, it's getting late. I'll pay for the room. Tasaka, I expect you to walk Maya-chan home like a gentleman!" And with that Keiko and I ran out the door leaving Maya alone with Tasaka on an impromptu date.

After paying for the karaoke room, Keiko and I ran towards the train station where Yusuke and I agreed to meet after the getaway plan succeeded. We found the boys, but unfortunately Kuwabara was already the owner of a brand new black eye.

"Oh no, Shizuru's going to blame me for that!" I shouted at Yusuke. "She's gonna murder me."

"Well, what did you expect? I said I was going to fight him so I fought him!" he laughed as usual. "I'm guessing the plan succeeded?"

"I think so, we'll find out later when she calls to yell at me for leaving her later," I answered with a smirk on my face.

"Wait, that was planned?" Kuwabara asked.

"Don't feel left out," Keiko reassured him. "Yusuke and Tsubaki may pretend to hate each other but they've been coming up with getaway plans since they were kids. Usually to leave me stuck as the one who paying for the check."

"I always payed you back," I laughed remembering the antics the three of us used to get up to.

"Yeah, but Yusuke never did," Keiko pouted. "I don't know if I prefer it when you two get along or when you're enemies with each other."

"Enemies to the bitter end," Yusuke joked as he held his fist out for me to bump it.

"Right back at ya, doofus." I smirked as our fists connected.

* * *

The next day Kurama stood at the footsteps of my door surprised by my haphazard appearance. I had woken up later than I expected this morning despite knowing that Kurama wanted to get an early start to shopping for a present. My hair was left completely down, no braid, no accessories, just running down my back loosely and half brushed. I decided on a pair of jeans and a simple black t-shirt tucked in with my favorite green bomber jacket over top.

My look wasn't stylish and judging from the look in his eyes he was surprised to see me in such a state. I hardly kept my hair loose and usually I would put in more effort into my outfits than just a t-shirt and jeans.

"Don't mind the appearance," I croaked out fighting off the remnants of the previous night's karaoke events. "I had a late start to the day."

"You're voice…Do you want to reschedule?" he asked sounding concerned.

"I'll be fine, just too much karaoke last night," I waved it off.

"Mm…" he said trying to gage my overall health. "Might I borrow your kitchen for a moment?"

I was confused by the sudden request but I allowed him passage knowing it gave me a few more moments to collect myself. I gathered a few essentials into my purse, wallet, keys, address book (no cellphones and memorizing phone numbers weren't my forte) along with some Chapstick and a scrunchy in case my loose hair starts to bother me later.

"Here you are," Kurama said handing me a cup of tea. "It should help your throat. It's just a quick blend of spices and herbs I had in my pocket."

"You carry herbs in your pockets?" I lifted my eyebrow at the preposterous statement knowing fully well that he probably pulled out some sort of demonic seeds from his hair to make this.

"I was collecting from our herb garden this morning and forgot to leave it at home," he explained. "But try it, I'm sure it'll help."

"Okay but if your magic potion turns me into a frog, you're in charge of finding my prince charming, and he better be attractive," I griped as I reluctantly took a sip of his herbal concoction.

He laughed at my joke and waited for my response to his drink. Lemon and mint were the strongest flavors emanating from it with hints of honey and lavender. I couldn't detect anything otherworldly from it, and it _did_ sooth my rough and ragged throat so I finished up the entire cup.

"Okay, I don't have a sudden desire to hop into a pond and eat flies, and my throat feels better," I stated. I gave him a smile and nodded my head in approval. "It's a pass. Thank you."

And with that we were off.

We started the day by heading towards the downtown area to do a bit of window shopping in case we saw something that Shiori might enjoy. I pointed out some pieces of clothing I thought would suit his mother but Kurama wasn't satisfied.

"Nothing seems…_good_ enough," he complained after looking through the sixth shop.

"Well, considering the only thing that you wanted to get her was well over the budget you had given me, I think maybe you should rethink your shopping strategy."

"That necklace wasn't that outrageous," he argued. "The price may be steep but the diamonds on it were well worth the asking price, and the maker seemed pretty renown."

"Renown my ass," I argued. His eyes widened at the sudden use of language that came from my frustrated disposition. I typically saved the short temper for my arguments with Yusuke but _this_ Kurama was just being ridiculous. "Despite how good of a quality the necklace was the only way you'd be able to get it would be stealing, which I doubt you'd be able to accomplish."

His face contorted looking slightly repulsed by my declaration. Surely the words I said hurt his inner Yoko Kurama pride within himself.

"So what might you suggest?" he asked, slight scowl forming on his face.

"The key to a good present is to put yourself into the receiver's shoes. You don't give them what _you _would want, you get them what _they_ want," I argued. "And I may not have known her as long as you have but I'm fairly certain she isn't the type to care for jewelry."

"Well, no. She isn't." he agreed reluctantly. "So the question is what would she want?"

I looked around at our surroundings and noticed that people were walking around wearing their traditional kimonos and carrying their picnic baskets as they ushered their families to follow along with them.

"I think I have an idea," I smiled as I guided him towards the direction of one of the parks in our city.

The shopping district in this area was ridden by too much typical and it was clear that nothing here would be good enough for his mother. Instead we followed the crowd of people walking towards the park where the hoards gathered to view the cherry blossoms blooming.

"They have markets here every Sunday," I started explaining. "More and more stands have been popping up the past few weekends due to the cherry blossoms blooming. A lot of the items are homemade and unique."

"I see, so you think we'll be able to find something in this area," he nodded his head, approving of the change in venue.

"Since your mother is one of a kind, we might be able to find a one of a kind item at one of the stands." I waved my hands to show him just how vast the park was at around this time of year. Normally this area didn't seem too large but with all of the stands and the groups of people gathering it made the park look much larger than usual.

"The cherry blossoms are gorgeous here," He said admirably as we walked through the area. "I haven't gone to one of these festivals in a quite some time."

"I like coming here every year. Cherry blossom trees are my favorite part about Japan."

"They're definitely beautiful, and quite unique." He agreed taking in the picturesque views of the cherry blossoms surround us. "Hard to imagine a prettier sight to see than this."

"I want to visit Connecticut one day," I said unsure why I felt the need to share this part of myself. His eyebrows raised up curious to know why I shared such a seemingly random fact about myself. "The fall foliage there is supposed to be incredible. Kent State Park, Ender's State Forest, access to the Appalachian trail. It's pretty much a nature lovers dream. The state is a hodge podge of city, country, forest and beaches and they have orchards and vineyards and ice cream." I felt my mind reeling back to memories of a past life.

"That sounds lovely," he agreed. "You must've done quite a bit of research about it."

"Yeah, a lot of research," I nodded my head. "There are so many places in this world to visit, but I guess sometimes you just discover a place and that's where you know you should be." I let my words hang in the air knowing that this conversation was already getting too personal. "But enough about that, we need to find a present for your mother."

I lead him towards the stands near the main attractions, more of the vendors in this area had trade items that they would spend all year long making at home with the intention to sell at this one festival.

"The shawls that are sold at that tent are homemade," I explained. "The mother dyes the fabrics using natural material. The orange fabrics are made using the peeled skin of _onions_!"

"That's pretty interesting, and clever," he mused. "Mother might like a shawl. She tends to get cold easily." We made our way toward the shop and I allowed him the privacy to pick and choose his own gift.

I turned my head towards a familiar strumming playing from the tent a few feet away from us. It sounded like a guitar only a little _different_, it was a sound that I had heard a numerous times when I was younger in my previous life.

_A Filipino bandurria_.

Faint memories of potluck picnics and line dancing flooded my mind. What a strange and odd encounter. It felt dangerous indulging myself in all these memories that a part of me had tried to shove inside a box within my heart.

Thinking about the past hurt.

Remembering everyone I lost hurt.

Picturing myself as nothing more than a memory to them _really_ hurt.

But I went anyway. I moved through the crowds with a feeling of longing building up inside me, looking for some sort of connection to my past. The music had no words to it but I knew it was the soft instrumentals of _Bahay Kubo_. I wouldn't be able to sing the song, it was a language I had unfortunately already started losing in my first life and now, having gone so long without remnants of it, it was nothing more than a longing left on my forgetful tongue.

"Hello, feel free to look," she said the words in Japanese but it was easy to tell that it wasn't her native tongue. The words fumbled and the strong accent didn't help.

"Kumusta," I said in an attempt to connect with a culture I had long lost. The words sounded wrong coming from my voice which had built up a Japanese accent. So again I tried in English this time. "You're Filipino, aren't you?" I knew that Japan had its fair share of overseas Filipino workers but I had never encountered one in person yet.

Her face lit up, excited at the meeting of a new friend. Filipinos _always_ recognize each other.

She quickly showed me the items she possessed in her small makeshift store. She had a lot of Filipino style bags and fans, a few pearls and jewelry boxes made from capiz shell. The one that caught my eye was the small capiz shell box that had an intricate flower design decorating its top reminding me of the one my grandmother used to keep on her vanity. Sadly the asking price was much too high and haggling had never been my strong suit, besides we were here shopping for Kurama's mother. Instead I opted to buy one of the handwoven bags that looked like something that would fit Shiori's style.

"There you are," Kurama said feigning as if he didn't have the ability to track me down like the bandit thief that he is. "I was wondering where you went off to."

"Sorry, I heard the music from this tent so I went to check it out," I apologized for leaving him without any indication of where I had gone. "But look, I found a bag that your mother might like!"

"She'll love it," he approved. "You were right about this area. There are a lot of things here that mother would enjoy. Once her health improves more you should bring her here as well."

"We can _both_ bring her here," I said emphasizing that he should also be included in his mother's future.

"Yes, we can," he nodded before looking at the items at the Filipino vendor was offering. "You used to want to go to the Philippines, didn't you?"

I laughed at the memory of myself at nine years old asking my parents if we could go visit the islands when my father had suggested a vacation. "I can't believe you remember that. My father suggested a vacation together with you and Shiori-san. I was hoping for an overseas vacation but instead we ended up going to the hot springs in the next prefecture."

He chuckled along at the memory, "You were quite adamant about it if I recall. You didn't speak once during the car ride. It was quite peaceful."

I made a face at his teasing joke. "I guess you can just chalk it up on my lists of places I want to go to," I smiled as I continued to look at the collection of jewelry boxes she had.

* * *

The lights around the park were starting to turn on. Had we really spent an entire day shopping together? Kurama had tasked me with finding somewhere to sit while he collected food and drinks for the two of us to enjoy.

"Don't complain, I went through a battle to get this one bench," I stated when I saw the slight look of disappointment flash in his eyes when he saw that I had only managed to get the smaller of the five benches on this side of the park. "I _was_ going to get the picnic table but then I saw the pregnant woman trying to keep her two year old from crying so I relented that fight and found this one instead."

He smiled in amusement and sat down, doing his best to arrange the food he collected on the small surface we had. He handed me my okonomiyaki and the hot tea drink he managed to carry over from the vending machine.

"How much do I owe you for the food?" I asked as I started stuffing my face in the festival food.

"Consider it my payment for your assistance today," he said as he went to enjoy his takoyaki.

"No payment necessary," I rebutted. "It was my pleasure, Shiori-san is practically my second mother." _Or third mother_.

"Regardless, I must thank you," he stated. "I wouldn't have been able to find her a gift without your help."

"It looks like you were able to find a decent amount of stuff for her," I said indicating towards his bags of gifts.

"Well, I found a few but one of the vendors kept insisting I buy more items so I relented. She was just too overpowering to say no to," he sighed as he started showing me some of the items he had purchased. Shawls, scarves, coin purses and a…mask?

I pulled out the kitsune mask – oh, the irony – from his bag and gave him a look of confusion, "Getting ready for Halloween already?"

He sighed frustrated by the look of it, "one of the vendors gave that one to me for free after all the other items I bought from her."

I held the mask up to my face and asked, "does it suit me?"

He laughed at my poor attempt at humor and replied, "afraid not. Kitsunes aren't known for their friendliness so it isn't very fitting."

"I'm sure some are," I smiled at him hoping to keep my innocence in this potentially dangerous topic of conversation.

At that point a small white cat found its way crawling in between Kurama's ankles and eventually making its way to the top of the bench and sitting sweetly on my lap nestling itself against the mask.

"This kitsune seems pretty sweet," I cooed as I tried to see if the cat had a tag for its owner. "You have a name kitty?"

The cat hissed at me for disturbing it from its resting place on my lap before walking away from us.

"See, not very friendly," Kurama chuckled somewhat darkly. "They trick you into thinking they're good and then they just leave." The words hung in the air a little replaced by the sounds of quiet chewing as we continued to eat our food.

The festival was beginning to run its course. The hoards of families already left to tuck their children into bed and were instead replaced by young teenagers awkwardly trying to get to know one another. Kurama and I had already done our fair share of shopping and eating and were making our way out when another burst of nostalgia started to hit me.

What was going on today?

Memories of playing rock band with friends and family were coming back to mind as the power ballad of Poison's classic _Every Rose Has it's Thorn_ continued to play from some park goers radio. I was humming along to the beginning and once the chorus came out the words, I'd long memorized, came out from my lips, "_every rooosee has it's thooornn, just like every night, has it's dawwwnnn…_"

"You're such an enigma," Kurama's voice said breaking me off from one of my favorite rock ballads. His tone didn't sound harsh or suspicious, or at least not from what I could tell. I saw the corners of his lips curve upward into a slight smile – so he wasn't mad about the rose reference? – and a small chuckled escaped him. "I can't tell if you—" and then he stopped himself, shook his head and continued walking forward.

"Wait, you can't tell if I—what?" I asked curiously as my legs did their best to catch up to him.

"Nothing, forget I said anything," he said laughing at my confusion.

"But I wanna know," I pouted. Surely he's been suspicious of me, but was he really the type to let all my hints and references slide past him all these years? He was _smart_ and he may do a good job at wearing his 'Shuichi Minamino' mask but he was by no means _just_ 'Shuichi Minamino' and that's what makes him so dangerous.

"Maybe another day," and before I could say anything else he pulled out a small box and handed it to me.

"Like I said before, you don't have to get me anything. I _like_ your mother and I _like_ helping you," I argued trying to refuse the gift he was offering me.

"I wanted to thank you for today," he insisted. "It'll match that necklace you always wear."

My hand clutched tightly onto the necklace that Koenma had given me. It's been siphoning my psychic energies since I was ten years old, he told me that it would protect me but can Kurama sense its inner powers? Kuwabara and Shizuru had never sensed anything from it but I'm sure Kurama's powers were much more magnified compared to theirs.

"Where _did_ you get that?" his face looked innocent but all I pictured were fangs.

"I don't remember," I said lamely shrugging my shoulders in an attempt to hide my nerves. "I think I just found it at a store one day and bought it."

"Mhmm," he hummed. He was playing mind games, wasn't he?

I opened the package in my hands and in it revealed the very same jewelry box that I was looking at previously at the Filipino vendor's stand. I traced the patterns of the flower on it before saying, "You didn't have to get it. It was on the pricier side for a festival market."

"You were looking at it for a long time," he explained. "And I wanted to thank you for today."

"I feel like meeting you was its own form of tadhana," I said softly as I held onto the delicate box.

"What?" he sounded confused.

"It means destiny…it was just something I was talking about with Maya last night," I said trying to shake off the feelings of nostalgia. These memories keep messing up today.

The stillness between us was interrupted by Kurama's hesitant question, "how is she?"

"She's doing fine," I answered relieved at the change in topic. "A little mad at me." I giggled thinking about the conversation we had last night. She was without a doubt peeved at being left alone with Tasaka but the upbeat pitch of her voice told me she wasn't being completely honest about her feelings.

"She's mad?"

"I may have pulled a mini prank on her last night to cheer her up. But don't worry, I think everything turned out alright," I answered.

Everything turned out alright, right?

"I'm glad she wasn't too upset then," he frowned at the memory. I'm sure regardless of what he may or may not feel towards her the thought of their conversation stung. No one wants to be the bad guy, not even a bandit thief.

"Don't worry, stud. She'll get over you soon enough," I patted his shoulder and in our usual banter I laughed along. "Did you tell your mother? Shiori-san would have a field day knowing that a girl confessed to you."

"_Please_ don't tell her," he rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." _In more ways than you know_ I added to myself.

He walked me the rest of the way back to my home. The routine we've had with one another the last six years engrained into every step and word we said as we traveled down the familiar paths and walkways. We would banter, one of us would say something slightly off to try and catch the other and then we would banter yet again. The format was both safe and dangerous, secretive and revealing.

Like he had said earlier: such an enigma.

And yet normal.

But little did I know that this would be my last normal night with Shuichi Minamino.

* * *

_So much for my original plan of posting once a week lol. Sorry this chapter took so long to post but at least it's a fairly longer chapter than my usual so hopefully that makes up for it? Thank you to kvs419, xenocanaan, tammywammy9, Pelawen Night, TheEccentric1 and balancewarlord for their reviews on the previous chapter! And also thank you to the people who added my story to their favorite/follow list!_

_Not sure when the next chapter will be but hopefully soonish? _


	12. Hajime

**Chapter 11: Hajime**

* * *

_It was clear to me that I was no longer speaking to Shuichi Minamino. This was Kurama. His once bright green eyes were replaced with a darken glare filled with – what exactly? It looked like remorse and anger and perhaps even a hint of betrayal buried deep behind his iris'._

_ This was not the boy I grew up with._

_ This was a demon with intense killer instincts and I knew that one wrong move and it would all be over for me. He did not fear me, or fear the information that I now held over him, instead he was calculating. Debating the pros and cons of this unforeseen turn of events._

_ Or maybe he had seen it._

_ The years of back and forth between us surely left him to wonder if I had found out his secrets. There was no room for banter or childhood memories, what was left felt stifling. The air was thicker than it had ever been before and I had no way of mending the now shattered friendship between the two of us. The trust and repartee we had built up was now gone._

_ "How long?" his eyes narrowed._

_ "All my life."_

* * *

The sheets beneath me were soaked in sweat.

My heart was still pumping from the dream I just woke up from. It was different from my usual imaginings, most nights I'm plagued by memories of my past but this time, it wasn't longing I dreamt of.

It was guilt.

The sound of the wind howling echoed from outside my windows, shutters moving as the spring breezes were slowly replaced by autumns call. And I knew that it was only a matter of _when_ the first major plot points would happen.

The months flew by with the ordinary. Moments filled with school events and summer festivals left me almost forgetting the world that I now lived in. Most of my days were spent tutoring Kuwabara or visiting cafes with Keiko (with a complaining Yusuke in tow) and volunteering at the hospital with Maya. The only reminders of the crazy world that I lived in were Botan and the occasional mission that Spirit World needed help with. Stubborn spirits that didn't want to pass on and one _incredibly annoying_ tanuki spirit that somehow found it's way over to the human world.

Other than that everything else was normal. Kurama had been quiet. Shiori's better health meant less hospital visits therefore less chances to see them. Although, mother does tell me that Shiori has started dating someone recently. Father says her remission is going well but I knew that there would only be so much time left until that changes.

And that lead me right back to guilt.

Before my mind could spiral out of control on this never ending back and forth of 'do I change the story or do I let it play out' a tapping sound came from my window.

"Hey! Botan here, and your presence has been requested in Spirit World," she said in her usual cheerful voice as she easily gained access to my room.

"Seriously?" I asked surprised. "If it's another tanuki spirit running amuck you can count me out!" I crossed my arms in X-formation. "Besides, I just woke up from a bad dream. I don't think I'll be falling asleep anytime soon."

"Not to worry, dear," she reached into her long pink sleeves, searching for…a needle? "Bingo! Just a tiny little prick on the finger here and you'll go right to sleep!"

I skeptically grabbed the needle carefully between my fingers. "What's the catch? I'm not trying to wait for some prince to wake me up with a kiss."

"Don't be silly, that's only in a fairytale," Botan laughed waving me off towards my bed so I could lay down. "It'll put you to sleep for just a few hours and then I'll be able to wake up your spirit."

I sighed as I followed her directions, laying back onto my bed and pricking the tip of my index finger. I saw a small dollop of red liquid boil to the surface before my eyes shut and once I opened my eyes again I was sitting on the back of Botan's Oar.

"See? Now that wasn't so bad, now was it?" She smiled perkily as she sped the oar upwards towards the night sky. I could still hear the wind howling but it wasn't cold against my spiritual body.

Why was she so hard to say no to?

I shook my head in response. "I guess not, what did Koenma want?"

"Not sure, he didn't really say. It might be a mission for our Spirit Investigator," she said with her usual cheer.

"Scouting trip? Lost soul? Spirit running amuck?"

She shrugged her shoulders unsure on how to answer questions she had no answers to. We landed at on the pebbled cloud and went to ring the bell. The large doors opened to reveal the usual hustle and bustle of the ogres and members of the special defense force. Ootake, the chief that reports directly to King Enma, grunted at me.

"Don't mind him, Ootake is always a bit of a grouch," Botan said pulling my arm along trying to keep me from overthinking the face that he made towards me.

I hadn't officially met the Special Defense Force yet. We'd passed by each other in the hallways the few times I would come here, but I was always greeted with looks of disdain and curt nods of their heads. Ootake was the worse of the lot. Koenma had told me before that he wasn't a big fan of the Spirit Detective program (and his new 'investigator' position for me) because he wanted _his_ group to be the soul protectors of Living World. King Enma wasn't a big fan of it either—for reasons I'm sure I'd be able to guess. The rest of the group wasn't as obvious with their disregard towards me, and Shunjun – the blue haired one – would even occasionally smile in greeting when he saw me.

We navigated our way past the cubicles, away from Ootake, and down the hallways arriving in front of Koenma's office. The piles of paper seemed to only get larger every time I see him. Jorge Saotome was darting around the room carrying piles of papers trying to organize while Koenma continues to furiously stamp papers that I doubt he was fully reading.

"Koenma, Sir. I brought Tsubaki like you requested," Botan said guiding me carefully around the sheets of paper scattered everywhere.

"Tsubaki? Oh yes, perfect! Exactly who I need right now!" He quickly shoved the piles of papers off his desk (to the utter shock of poor Jorge) and went to collect himself in his seat. "There's a bit of trouble and we need your help."

"Like I said to Botan, Tanuki spirits are an absolute no for me. They're _such_ troublemakers," I complained thinking about the last mini mission that Botan asked me to help with.

"No it's bigger than that," Koenma said as he reached for a remote and pulled up a picture onto the television screen. "A demon by the name of Yatsude found its way into the human world. We need you to help us get rid of him."

"That big guy? What exactly do you want _me_ to do about him?" I complained. "You said so yourself, I'm not your detective that solves these issues. I'm just your field investigator."

Koenma crossed his arms and slumped in his seat. "Yes, but unfortunately there are no other options at the moment," he said with his brows furrowing. "Father refuses to send in his Special Defense Force for some reason so we can't use them. But he's been causing so many issues and people have been disappearing for months now and it's just such a huge mess. His powers—"

"Let me guess? His powers get stronger the more he eats?" he shivered remembering the line that Hiei said to Kurama during the one shot.

Koenma nodded. "I'm guessing you're familiar with him then?" He gave me a look of hope.

So _that's_ what it was. He wanted to cheat. He wants me to give him the answer to his problem of his. Even since Koenma told me about him needing someone to help "guide" him he'd been pretty good about not asking for too many hints about the future.

"Are you trying to cheat?" I asked him pointedly. "You just want a solution to this, don't you?"

He twiddled his figures together in slight guilt and answered, "I just _know_ that you're very…smart, when it comes to knowing what to do. Maybe you could help us out this one time?"

I wasn't sure what to say to this. I knew how the story was supposed to play out but at the same time I also knew that Maya had already given her confession months ago, so what happens if she doesn't get captured? What if Kurama decides he doesn't want to help Hiei?

"I don't know what I'd be able to do against someone like him," I answered trying to give my honest answer to the dilemma we were facing. "You've admitted it yourself that there isn't much I would be able to do against actual opponents. I can spy for you, sure, stubborn spirits that don't want to go with Botan? Yeah that I can do, but someone like him would require _fighting_." I wanted to help but there was a chance I've already messed everything up and I wasn't exactly the best when it came to fighting.

"I'll give you a weapon, just in case. But isn't there _something_ you could think of that might help move things along?" Koenma was almost begging. "Father left on a trip and won't be back for a month and he gave specific orders to the Special Defense Force not to move without his orders so they can't help and we have yet to find a detective capable enough to fight off opponents like him."

"What about the previous Spirit Detective? Maybe she'll help if it means keeping her world safe?" Botan offered.

"No, the first detective's contract ended on the guidelines that she never be involved again and the last one…" his voice trailed off not wanting to explain the events that surrounded Sensui.

"What about other demons?" I suggested hoping to do my part in '_guiding'_ as Koenma calls it. "Surely they don't like the idea of this guy taking over so much domain."

"How could you suggest such a thing?" Botan and Jorge both looked appalled by the suggestion.

"I'm just saying, we need muscle and surely one of them might be able to be that muscle for us, right?" I reasoned.

"Are you suggesting that redhead you seem to have somehow become friends with?" Koenma rifled through his cabinets trying to find the folder he had on him. "It does seem like he's willing to defend his mother from the threats of other demons, but he's been pretty quiet surprisingly for such a potentially powerful demon."

"I still think it's dangerous for him to be so close to your family, he should've been dealt with long ago. Who knows what he's planning," Botan added peering over Koenma's shoulder to look at the file.

"He won't be easily convinced into acting," I replied. "I think he's doing his best to keep up his façade. But I have a small idea that just might work, but I also need you to do something as a little bit of reassurance."

"Reassurance?" Koenma asked.

"My presence has changed a few minor details when it comes to events taking place," I answered making his worried face ten times worse than it had already been. "Therefore, I need you to start a rumor as a way to ensure that pieces of this puzzle stick." I waited for Koenma to nod his head in agreement. "First, I need you to start a rumor that Yatsude was able to capture an ice apparition, second, I need you to locate and keep track of a demon named Hedoki and if he is found anywhere within my city contact me immediately and third, I need to make sure that our bait is protected."

"Bait?" Jorge asked popping up beside Koenma's desk trying to sneak in a few more piles of paper for Koenma to stamp.

"Me!" I smiled as I jokingly added, "I can't fight for shit so you got any weapons for me or something? The other options for a bait are completely off limits so I'll go ahead and take on that role."

"Tsubaki! That's dangerous! Surely you can't agree to this plan," Botan looked pleadingly towards Koenma hoping he would disagree with the plan I had formulated.

"Koenma and I have an end goal in mind," I answered for him. He nodded his head in agreement before dismissing me to hopefully help catch Yatsude for him.

* * *

It didn't take long for Koenma to track down Hedoki.

Which is why I found myself running furiously towards Kurama's school with nothing than an experimental Concentration Ring donned on my right pointer finger to protect me on the first true event I would have to face.

And this event was probably going to be a doozy.

I waited patiently by the gate, desperately trying to come up with a solid excuse to give to the cleverest of the yet-to-be-formed team. There was nothing pressing that I needed to speak to him about, and there was nothing I could use as an excuse to stay with him. I hadn't seen Hedoki (who knows if Maya still catches him or not) and there was absolutely _not_ going to be a confession of first loves coming from here. I couldn't use Maya, otherwise I'll run the risk of having to go with _her_ instead of where the action was taking place and there was nothing concerning our mothers that needed me to come running over to his school.

A sigh escaped my mouth, and then the sound of nearby branches ruffling aggressively caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stick up. There was a shadow jumping back and forth from the trees, running away from something or _someone_ and immediately I ran towards it.

There was a small grove of trees surrounding Kurama's middle school that led off towards the distance where the shadow disappeared towards. The atmosphere around me felt ominous, definitely not a friendly spirit (or more likely demon) and that was the first time I truly felt the weight of what was about to unfold. My legs refused to move further into the darkness and I felt my stomach churn with terror.

"Yoshino-san?" Kurama's silken voice said from behind me. "What are you doing here?"

I turned around quickly and unprepared for the conversation about to unfold. "I thought I saw—I don't know, I saw something."

"Something?" he stepped forward, worry evident on his face.

"Why are you here? School hasn't ended yet, right?" I asked knowing that the bell signifying the end of the school day hadn't gone off yet.

"My lessons were over, so I left," he tried smiling to reassure me but his eyes betrayed him. Confused clouds swirled around in his usually bright green eyes. "Why are you here? Meeting Kitajima-san?"

"Oh, um—no," I started unsure of whatever excuses I had considered using. "I came to see you."

Reading fanfictions (and dabbling in them myself) made me feel like I would be prepared for such a crazy and unexpected life. I had seen and read enough isekai stories that the very nature of my existence of my newfound life hadn't even phased me. But reality was far different from the scenarios I had created for myself in my head. I wasn't as smart or athletic as I had pictured myself to be once the real story had started instead, I was a fumbling idiot who had no idea what I had gotten myself into. I can talk the talk with Koenma, but looking into Kurama's concerned phase had brought my confidence down a peg or two.

"You came to see me?" his eyes darted back and forth between me and the forest, trying to piece together a puzzle that I've been building for him for the last six years.

"Yes, _you_," I said regaining a bit of my confidence back. When in doubt, friendly banter, right? "It's been a while since I've seen you so I came to talk."

He shook his head as he guided the two of us away from the trees. "Why do I find it hard to believe that you came here just to talk to me?"

"There _may_ be a bit more of a motive behind my actions," I said smirking, trying to hide a small giggle, thankful for the lucky timing. I pointed my finger at the couple walking out of the school building laughing together. "Maya-chan told me that Tasaka has been walking her home recently," I explained further. "I wanted to witness the new developments firsthand."

Kurama watched with careful eyes as the two of them walked away. "They've been eating lunch together recently."

"Hmm…" I hummed surprised by his comment. "Didn't peg you for the type who paid attention to your classmates interaction."

"It's fascinating how people's feelings change so quickly and yet still so deeply," He mused.

"Feeling any regret, loverboy?" asked curious on how he felt about his classmates.

"No," He rolled his eyes as he led me out past the gate of his school. "I just find it noteworthy how people interact with each other." He paused for a moment before continuing again. "You wanted to talk?"

"More like use you as an excuse to observe my little scheme come into fruition," I laughed hoping my sudden (and lucky) excuse was believable enough. "I'm the mastermind behind the inception of that adorable little pairing."

"Kudos to you then," he smiled approvingly. "I'm glad she was able to find someone that fits her nicely."

"Me too," I agreed walking beside him. "I can try to work my magic on you too. I'm sure many people would happily agree to a goukon if you're there."

"Afraid, I'm not interested. Thank you for the offer," he retorted. "And unfortunately, I do have errands I must attend to. Perhaps we can catch up another day."

I knew he was trying to push me away from him. He had seen a demon at his school and he was well aware that I had gotten a glimpse of something as well. He didn't want anyone finding out about him and my presence made that all the more difficult for him.

"I can help with your errands," I offered. "Shiori-san is still recovering so running all the errands for your house must be difficult alone."

"Thank you, but I can manage just fine," his voice was curter this time. He turned his back from me, hands in his pocket and he started walking away from me. "You should head home before it gets darker. It's been dangerous recently."

But before he could fully walk away from me, I felt the air around us change. A new presence was getting closer. _Please let it be him._ Kurama was by my side in an instant, back stiffened and his body suddenly poised to attack should it be needed.

"Don't move, Yoshino," His eyes were different, there was no amusement in them anymore. "Stay close"

I had never seen him like this before and it almost scared me. He was no longer Shuichi Minamino and I knew that from this moment on our relationship would never be the same. Then before I could even bat an eyelash a sword swung at us, just barely missing as Kurama lifted me effortlessly into his arms and away from the would-be dragon.

"I'm surprised you dodged that," Hiei said, his voice deep with annoyance. He was shorter than I expected. I had always known that Hiei was short in stature but I hadn't fully wrapped my head around the thought of such a dark and menacing demon standing at only 4'10". He held his sword out, preparing to determine his next move, clearly unperturbed by the difference in height. Confidence radiated from his aura, eyes calculating and sizing Kurama up with just one glace. _Damn_, Hiei looked cool.

"Are you alright?" Kurama asked, pulling me away from my thoughts before I could start fangirling about my favorite character.

"Yeah. What about you, Kurama? Are you alright?"

_Fuck_. Just one more frickin' year, Tsubaki. That was _all_ you had left before you could say whatever the hell sort of name you wanted to call him. He just looked far too different from _my_ Minamino-senpai, eyes dark and scary, his usual façade of banter and friendly smirks completely gone, without a trace, from his face.

"Yoshino? How do you—?" His eyes widened for a moment before becoming pointed again. "We have bigger problems than our usual game of cat and mouse."

Hiei jumped towards the two of us, taking the opportunity of Kurama's now distracted disposition and I felt myself falling to the ground as Kurama pulled out one of his seeds, created his plant sword and intercepted Hiei before he could get any closer to me.

I saw the two in the air – swords clashing, the metal from Hiei's chiming with every hit from Kurama's weapon. They were evenly matched and although it will be a brief and futile fight it looked so fucking cool seeing two of my favorite characters duking it out with swords. There was a quick and breathless, "Run!" uttered from Kurama's mouth before the two were in the air again darting against one another on the branches of the tree before they were too far out of my sight to be seen.

_Phase One: Complete_.

My presence didn't ruin all of canon and that was an immense weight lifted off of my shoulders. But I knew that this wouldn't be all that was needed from this day. The two of them meeting meant nothing if they never get their chance to team up together. I had Koenma spread a rumor that Yatsude had a fondness for ice apparitions which shows that Hiei was already motivated to attack the eight-limbed demon. Kurama on the other hand _might_ need more convincing.

I turned my head, preparing for what was going to happen next. I didn't want to be taken by surprise like Maya was in the show. I kept my eyes opened even though it wasn't necessary. I _smelled_ him before I could even feel his energy appearing.

"Hedoki," I growled seeing the poor human he took control over.

"Heh heh he…lucky me," he goaded. "Looks like you have a quite a bit of spiritual powers within you. You'll make a nice present for my master."

I tried crawling away. I knew I would be captured, I knew that I _had_ to be captured but that didn't mean I was going to go easily and quietly. I could've used the ring, but that would leave me with little to no energy causing me to pass out and who knows what I may need once I come face to face with the true villain.

"Leave me alone you slimeball," I shouted, tossing the nearest rock I could find.

He dodged my throw easily, using the human host he found as a shield. "Foolish girl. Fight all you want, you're no match for me. Besides, master tells me he likes the feisty ones." He laughed again before capturing me in his arms, rendering me immobile with a single blow to the head– reducing me to nothing more than the archetypical 'princess-that-must-be-rescued' role.

_What fun, exactly how I wanted to spend my evening_.

* * *

When my eyes opened again, I was surrounded by leftover bits of human flesh and hoards of discarded mannequin pieces laying about. The rotting corpses – or what was left of them – were pungent; mixed odors of iron and decay cut through by the various leftover scents of different perfumes and colognes. How many ferry girls had to have come here until Spirit World finally realized that this was an issue, or maybe their souls never even had a chance? Consumed by a horrendous beast before they were even given a chance of an afterlife forced to forsake any hope whether living or dead.

My head was pounding at the spot that Hedoki struck me at, I felt slightly woozy but this was no time to be weak. Before me sat a makeshift throne, he must've used his leftovers as a way to build it himself. There were no easy escape routes from what I could see. There was a single doorway which surely would have Yatsude on the other side of it and a single (sketchy looking) metal ladder that I could possible use but from my vantage point it seemed to only reach the upper banisters which hopefully its door connected into the main area and not a supply closet. There were windows, as well, that looked big enough for me to squeeze myself through, but who knows how high above the ground the fall could be. I laid back down on the floor when I heard the faint sound of footsteps getting closer and closer to the room they left me in.

Yes, I think the sketchy ladders with the sketchy door was the way to go.

"Isn't she a gem, master?" Hedoki's spiny voice echoed just past the doorway.

"Indeed, Hedoki. Well done. She will make a fine repast, her spiritual energy is deepening as we speak," Yatsude replied thirstily. "My power will double if I devour her once she _ripens_ enough."

The two creatures walked in. I didn't dare open my eyes, afraid that the slightest movement could entice the eight-limbed monster enough to eat me before I reach my -_gulp_\- ripeness, as he puts it.

"But you know what, slime? I'm hungry **_now_**," Yatsude's stomach growled agreeing with the words he had just spoken. "As your reward…I will make you part of me."

"Wait, no! I-I-" and Hedoki's voice stopped at the same time as a loud splurt, followed by a strong crunch of Yatsude's powerful jaws, could be heard.

Drips of…something landed on my body as the heat from Yatsude hovered above me. "Filling, but hardly edible. Females, human or demon, make the _finest_ meals," he said in between licking his fingers. "Wouldn't you agree, girl?"

My eyes widened.

"I'm no fool, child. I know you're awake," he chuckled darkly as I feebly rose from my position. "You look rather delicious, it's a shame I'll only be able to enjoy your taste once…or perhaps I can enjoy you piece by piece. Savor your delicious powers with each bite." His chuckling grew louder. "I may not even leave anything behind this time with you."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked as I finally stood on my two feet.

"I was hoping to find something yummy to munch on in this pathetic city of yours. There wasn't much the last few months but then my servant told me about that interesting creature you seem to hang around with." He sat on his throne as if nothing could phase him. The thought of me running didn't threaten him. He was faster and stronger by miles compared to me.

"What do you want with him?" I asked hoping I could keep him talking.

"I was thinking about eating him and taking his powers for my own, but then I realized something rather _fun_ about him." He continued to look me up and down, eyes devouring me before his mouth could. His steely gaze sent shivers up my spine. "Turns out the people around him kept awakening bits and pieces of spiritual energies."

"One of your _minions_ tried attacking me before," I spat at him recalling the events back at Genkai's.

"Looks like you weren't as lucky today," he laughed. "But you aren't _quite_ ready yet. Yes, another day or two and you'll be ready. Maybe I'll even let you see me kill your little friend, that should season you up real good."

"What makes you so _sure_ that he'll come tonight?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"I can sense the two of them already. They both seem quite agitated; they'll make a decent enough snack. Shame you aren't friends with many female demons, though," he tutted. "But I supposed that'll make you all the more satisfying."

His hand tapped the top of my head in a very degrading pet. The corner of his mouth smirked as he vulgarly said, "Be good while I go take care of a few pests." And he disappeared back towards the hallway to confront his two intruders.

As soon as he was far enough away I bolted towards the ladder – the only other exit from the room he left me locked in. I grabbed a nearby metal rod – which undoubtedly fell off of the ladder I was about to climb – it wasn't big enough to be fearsome but any weapon was better than no weapon at all. I scurried up the ladder to get onto the second floor banisters. The first rung collapsed once my full weight was on it, leaving a pretty nasty cut, but the ones that followed seemed to be more trustworthy so I continued upwards.

I didn't dare stand once I made it to the top. Parts were rusted, probably from rain falling from the leaking roof or from the pieces of rotting corpses haphazardly above as if they were simple toothpicks. My knees ached (crawling on metal paneling = **_not_** recommended) but I pushed through, crawling with the comfort of the side railing just in case the rusted deck fell away.

The beginning of what seemed like such an epic team up wasn't as grand as I had imagined it would be. _This_ is exactly why I never wanted to be a damsel in distress. Fighting can at least look cool and heroic, instead I'm the captured girl crawling on her knees trying to escape.

Thank god I decided to wear spandex shorts underneath my uniform this morning.

The door was easy enough to shove open with the hinges rusted enough for me to break past, and I slowly continued to crawl forward towards the main area of the factory. Piles of half eaten bodies laid on the sides allowing me more coverage and an odor shield to hide me from my jailer.

Below me I noticed two figures walking through an entryway. I took a moment to release a breath I had been holding for so long. _Phase two: Complete_. Kurama _did_ decide to join Hiei. I hadn't completely destroyed their first encounter.

"Bastard's got bad table manners," Hiei spoke in his deep and toneless voice. "there's half eaten human bits amid the mannequin parts."

Both their eyes darted around the room, taking in their surroundings. Kurama looked upwards towards me but I didn't dare call out for him. If I was to be his motivation for teaming up with Hiei, I couldn't run the risk of him abandoning his new comrade in order to save me. Regardless of how disgusting my surroundings and how absolutely terrified I was, I could not do it. Neither are strong enough to defeat Yatsude alone.

My body was shaking, as was the floor beneath the two boys. They leapt away from the attack, poised and ready for a brawl.

"You again?" Yatsude asked pointedly to Hiei. "Real persistent, aren't you?"

Hiei reached for his blade. "I'm only going to ask once. Tell me the name of the Ice Maiden you ate."

"Can't say I can remember!" Yatsude goaded, his energy levels rising as the arms attached to him grew in size. He was nowhere near as large as I imagine Toguro will be but he was still quite frightening when you felt the energies rising within him.

"You kidnapped a girl today. Where is she?" Kurama said menacingly, eyes glaring heavier than I've ever seen before. His body ready to attack at any moment.

"What do you think this is?" Yatsude teased holding up a random severed food by the hands attached to his disgusting head.

And that was when I saw pure anger.

Growing up I always told my mother that Kurama's aura was green like his eyes. Calm and relaxing, but if I were to describe the image before me it was pure **red** with blood lust and anger. He was no longer the pots of camellias, daffodils and daisies that he had given me in past years, nor was he like the Sakura blossoms from springtime in my memories.

This Kurama was a rose. This was a wild rose bush that had survived past it's blossoming stage and was left with only its pointed thorns ready to make others bleed.

Hiei and Kurama attacked. Swords out, metal clashing and thorns slashing at their mutual enemy. Each swing was rebutted by one or more of Yatsude's arms.

Theoretically, he wasn't that strong of an opponent. As Yusuke would analyze, he'd be a level 1 boss, hard to figure out but easy to defeat. The strength level wasn't that much higher than the combined strengths of Hiei and Kurama, it was just that neither of them had their mechanics set in place. They were just button-mashing in an attempt to hack away at the enemy, and while it's a (very) valid strategy, it didn't necessarily promise success each time.

Especially not when their strong demon energies had been nerfed so much to the point of being D level yokai, and their energies were only getting weaker as the fighting continued.

They needed a chance to rest, even for a moment.

And so, I did the only natural move that a girl trying to escape could do. I threw my metal rod at the back of Yatsude's head and hightailed it away from my hiding stop to find a new one. The attack was weak and feeble but it served its purpose. With the enemy distracted, and arbitrarily attacking to find the source, Kurama took the chance to move Hiei away from the battlefield for a chance to collect themselves.

My instincts weren't good enough to follow where the two went, but I knew from the story that Yatsude would eventually find them and bring them back into the lobby again. I had managed to find another ladder that led me up one more level, hopefully far enough away to void the rumble from below, and I made my new hiding spot beside a slew of discarded mannequins.

The sound of a wall bursting was indication enough to be that Yatsude had found the two. Screams of attacks could be heard, floors breaking and walls being hit echoed in the giant space we were in. A flash ran quickly across the level making its way towards me. My body started shaking on instinct at the sight of Hiei so close, but dammit he looks so fucking cool. So what if he barely acknowledged me? This was my favorite character and he was standing beside me.

**_And he was taking his shirt off!_**

"You? What are –?" But before he could finish his sentence his eyes glanced forwards my necklace.

Realize what he thought I answered his unspoken question, "Sorry, it's not hers. Mine is just a pearl, not as pretty right?"

"What do you know?" he said angrily, pointing his sword close to my neck.

I gulped. Okay, maybe not how I expected this to turn around.

"Hurry up and speak, I'm not above killing a measly human. I don't care who you are to that guy. I can kill you and then I can kill him," he threatened.

I blinked at his words, "Do you even _realize_ who you're working with right now?" He scoffed, pointing the sword even close to my neck. I sighed, and not wanting to reveal more than I needed, and also not wanting to delay their fight any longer I carefully slipped my head away from his threat. "I'll tell you what you want to know, but don't you think you have _more_ pressing matters at hand?"

"Shit –" he cursed under his breath and returned to the fight.

A part of me was relieved that I was no longer his enemy at the moment, but then as I leaned back against the wall I noticed a key part of their plan. He forgot the damn decoy that he snuck up here for in the first place.

I grabbed the dummy and ran towards the railing trying to see what was happening. Their plan hadn't synced up, Hiei had been knocked to the side after attempting to swing at him from above and now Kurama was backed against a wall with no clear way of escape.

God. Fucking. Damn. It.

It was too late to throw the mannequin for them so I did the only thing left that I could do. I raised my pointer finger in the shape of a gun – like I had done so many times before as a child watching the show – and aimed for Yatsude's head with Koenma's warning ringing through my head:

_"This is an experimental concentration ring. It can increase your reiki and allow you to fire a spirit gun if you concentrate your energy onto your index finger. But remember you don't have an excess amount of spirit energy so use it only as a last resort because once your body is out of spirit energy you will die."_

**I don't give a fuck.**

The blast from my finger wasn't impressive, but it was enough to hit him clear on the back of his right shoulder. He turned around and saw me, his precious meal, as I fell to my knees. Yatsude started making his way towards me as Kurama shouted my name, my _first_ name.

But I couldn't see or hear what came after.

My ears started ringing and my sight faded to black.

_Phase three: Complete?_

* * *

_I'll be the first to admit that I'm not great at fight scenes (yes, I **do** realize that I chose to write YYH fanfic lol) but it's something I want to improve on, so hopefully this wasn't too bad! _

_Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that reviewed! Thank you to xenocanaan, balancewarlord, TheEccentric1, kvs419, Pelawen Night, tammywammy9, Evalyd Yamazaki, LadyEllesmere, nevvy and the MVP (for leaving four comments in a row) ! _

_I really truly appreciate each and every one of you for reviewing, favoriting and following! It means **so, so, so**** much** to me and really brightens up my day each time I see any of it. Also I made a tumblr for me to collect my thoughts/headcanons and post moodboards for this fanfic (although most of it has turned into reblogging things I like lol) the username is __yoshinotsubaki if anyone wants to see! _


	13. Soothsayer

**Chapter 12: Soothsayer**

* * *

The scent of sandalwood and the quiet whispers coming from two demons brought me back from the pitfalls of my almost second death. I felt the heat of another body holding me, strands of hair tickled my forehead and had I been fully alert I'm sure I would've been blushing knowing that someone was carrying me on their back. The presence felt warm and safe and my head instinctively relaxed into the nape of their neck. My eyes stayed shut, still too tired to open.

"What is she?" A low and gruff voice asked from a few feet away from us.

"Just a regular human," the second voice – Kurama's voice – responded. "As far as I know."

"Doesn't seem very regular if you ask me," Hiei retorted back chidingly.

"She can be an odd one," He answered, voice low as if trying to reach for a distant sound that was once so easy for him to access.

"What are you going to do with her?"

"Not sure," Kurama responded again.

I knew the dangers of what this mission entailed. I had understood that Yatsude was powerful, far more powerful than what I would've been able to handle on my own. But the true danger, the one that I was most fearful of, was Kurama. He's been discovered, his name – his true name – was known by me, someone who was close to not just his human life but close to his mother as well.

What would he do to me?

He was not above erasing Maya's memories in the manga, and she had merely stumbled upon his secrets. What happens to me? Someone who's been so closely entwined into the lives of him and the only person he cares about in this world? Would erasing my memories of this night be enough for him? What about my parents? What about his mother who sees me as if I were her own daughter? What about my friendships with Maya and Tasaka; his classmates? What happens to those connections that I've made? And most of all, what about my relationship with him? Does he see the ties that we've formed, growing up adjacent to one another as expendable?

Did our friendship _mean_ anything to him? Could it even be considered as friendship in his eyes? Or have I permanently painted myself as an enemy?

"I didn't ask your name earlier," Hiei commented, breaking me out of my thoughts. "I'll try to remember it."

After a moment's hesitation he said, "Kurama."

At least this part of canon wasn't completely off the rails, and that was when exhaustion took over my body again.

* * *

_I was tending to the small garden I had created in my backyard. It had been a few weeks after I revealed that my cancer was back to my friends and family. Fall perennials were blooming around my feet; pink oriental lilies, colorful chrysanthemum and white Japanese Anemones. I was proud that many of these were able to bloom, if I was going to leave this world then it was good to know that I would be leaving behind something beautiful._

_ "You belong among the wildflowers," I heard a voice singing from behind me. "You belong in a boa tout at sea."_

_ "You belong with your love on your arm," I joined harmonizing in between giggles at my boyfriend. "You belong somewhere you feel free."_

_ "Surprised to see me?" he asked after our chorus of (somewhat passible) singing._

_ My arms instinctively reached out for the warmth of his body in a tight embrace. "You're supposed to still be in class…two hours away from here. What are you doing here?"_

_ "Don't even _pretend_ that you aren't happy to see me," he laughed as he guided me back into my house. "And it's cold out, you should be wearing more than just that thin cardigan."_

_ "You still haven't answered my question," I rolled my eyes at him doing my best not to get swept away by his natural charm. "What are you doing here when you're supposed to be in class?"_

_ "It's hard concentrating knowing that my girl isn't on campus with me this year," he pouted as we took as seat at my kitchen table._

_ "But you need to focus on your classes and your future."_

_ "Can't I just focus on you instead?" he smiled lovingly towards me._

_ "No, you can't actually," I shook my head. "And don't you think we should talk about that?"_

_ "Talk about how I'll be with you every step of the way?" he smiled again, that much more determined to avoid the very subject I was trying to get at._

_ "You _know_ what the last step of this is going to be…"_

_ "And you already know that you beat it once," he argued back._

_ "Yeah, once. But the odds of me beating it again are pretty slim especially since it's come back even more aggressive than the first time. We need to be realistic about this," I said hoping he could see where I was coming from._

_ "Since when have _you_ been realistic?" he questioned while pointing his finger towards the shelves and shelves of movies and televisions shows that my brother and I have collected throughout the years. "You practically live in your own little Disney and anime world."_

_ "Well, yes. I can't argue that," I said half ashamed at the large quantities of merchandise I've collected for all of my loves. "But this _is_ real and we need to talk about it because the truth is that I'm most likely going to di—"_

_ My voice was caught somewhere in my throat. The word – a word I claimed I did not fear – was stuck unable to express itself and the hopelessness that I felt in that very moment. I felt trapped knowing my inevitable fate, unable to change the course of destiny at work._

_ "Okay, I'm sorry," my boyfriend spoke softly into my ears wrapping his arms around me. "How about a movie night? Or an Anime night?"_

_ I nodded my head at his suggestion still unable to speak the thoughts running through my head. I pointed towards the boxset of Harry Potter – my usually go to when I'm not in the right headspace to make decisions – on my living room shelves and he quickly popped it into the blueray DVD player and wrapped me with a blanket, arms around each other with our heads snuggled into spaces that seemed to fit perfectly against each other._

_ But despite the seemingly picture-perfect view of what should've been a happy couple it was only filled with a cancer ridden body hoping crying would somehow expel all the horrible thoughts running through my mind._

* * *

I woke up hazily the next day, eyes barely opened body rendered completely immobile.

My mother was beside herself with worry and my father (the doctor of the family) had no idea why I had been so physically drained of all energy. I was conscious enough to respond to them and I had managed to eat a few bites of congee in between long stretches of sleep, but when it came to physically moving it was near impossible for me.

My father ruled out the flu (no fever), thyroid issues (he had labs done) and a whole slew of other possible diagnosis until he relented on day two and announced whilst scratching his head that "she's just a growing girl, I supposed."

"But is it really normal for her to be so exhausted?" my mother worried.

"It could be stress from all the added schoolwork she's been piling on herself recently," my father tried to reason. "I say we let her rest another day and if she isn't feeling better we can take her to the hospital for a more thorough examination."

My mother agreed and I groggily told them I would be fine to go to school determined to keep myself from staying overnight at a hospital. Needless to say, I felt like Sakura Kinomoto after she transformed the Clow Cards into Sakura Cards for the very first time. The only difference was that she had been following fate and destiny, while I was just a busybody inserting myself into a plotline, I had no business being in.

I had a vague memory of a nice Shinigami dressed in pink – most likely Botan – coming to visit me in my dreams. She visited not for death but for congratulations.

"Wonderful job on your epic debut as Spirit Detective," she boasted happily at my half-listening, groggily sleeping body. Even in my dreams I was resting.

"Investigator and doer of stuff," I reminded her, not fully paying attention to her.

"Right, yes," Botan agreed. "Koenma said he's found potential prospects to take up the mantle for the official position. He did say that you did marvelous for your energy levels, although he mentioned making arrangements to provide you with better instruction should you need it."

"Mhmm," I nodded my head at her reports.

She flipped through her books checking to see if she missed any key points. "Okay, here it is. Koenma told me to let you know that you're very low on spirit energy at the moment –"

"You think?" I yawned.

"So you've noticed then," she smiled. "He said you should be back in tip top shape within a day or two, so just rest up as much as you can. Most of your physical injuries seem to have been healed up by that demon friend of yours," she read though more of her book. "And looks like that's all for now, I'll let you get back to your dreams then."

And she left as quickly as she appeared before me, leaving me to sort through my shifting mindscape.

* * *

_This time I was nine years old and Kurama was staying with us for the weekend while Shiori was on a business trip for work. Shiori had dropped him off while I was in the middle of preoccupying myself with a VHS tape of one of my favorite movies from my previous life _The Fox and the Hound_._

_I swear I didn't do it on purpose this time, I didn't even realize that Kurama was going to be staying with us for the weekend._

_"Shuichi-kun, why don't you watch television with Tsubaki?" my mother guided him into the living room as she took his small duffle bag up to the guest bedroom._

_He nodded his head politely and sat beside me, sliding his legs underneath the kotatsu we had just laid out. He sat upright – posture too perfect for any normal nine year old and I saw the slightly perturbed face he made as he saw the image of Tod running across the screen._

_"What are you watching?" he asked, voice irritated at the irony of the movie I had chosen._

_"The Fox and the Hound," I answered. A part of me wanted to add in 'a childhood classic' to the explanation on why I chose it but at this point in time it was still considered a new movie. "One of my favorites."_

_"I've never seen it before," his voice didn't have a single ounce of curiosity as he placed his head on his hand, boredom evident._

_"Well that's just a travesty!" I shouted at him as I crawled towards the television set, pulled out the VHS, rewound the tape and placed it back into the slot. "It's all about the strength of friendship despite Tod and Copper being clear enemies of one another."_

_"Let me guess, the dog hunts the fox?" he still seemed irritated by the premise of a fox being hunted._

_"Well, not exactly, the fox is adopted by a kind lady and ends up befriending the puppy next door," I stopped myself from continuing on when I noticed the steam starting to escape out of his ears at the mention of adoption. "Just, don't think too much about it and watch the damn movie! I'm not changing it and I already rewound the tape so you could watch it from the beginning."_

_He glared at me and muttered, "I didn't ask for it to be rewound."_

_I glared back at him and just said, "why don't you enjoy childhood for just one moment."_

_ He rolled his eyes at me but complied and sat through the entire Disney movie from start to finish._

* * *

The next time I woke up it was well past midnight. I felt more energy flowing through my body than the previous night. I stood up, stretched my leg for the first time in ages, wrapped myself in my favorite white throw blanket and made my way towards my window to get my first – albeit dark – glimpse at the world.

The air around me was chillier than I thought it would be and the moon was full as it loomed big and bright in the clear night sky.

"Winter is coming," I whispered into the wind.

"I believe it's just a cold front forming," A voice called out softly from my rooftop before landing gracefully on the ledge of my window and making his way into my room. "Not quite winter just yet."

"Senpai," I greeted sarcastically. "Please do come in, won't you?"

"I see you're feeling better, Yoshino-san," He stated unblinkingly.

"I believe you called me something else last time we spoke," I tried teasing.

"Yes, and you also called _me_ something else. Mind explaining?"

"Oh, well, yes, about that…" I looked away unsure of how to proceed.

I had spent years picturing this very moment. I didn't have much hope that I would be able to keep this a secret from Shuichi forever – I wasn't anywhere near clever enough in order to fool him for that long – but I had hoped I would be able to keep this a secret until at least after Yusuke recovers the Dark Artefacts.

"I'm not playing games today." He stated – deadpanned, without a trace of familiarity in his cold words.

"I know you aren't," I responded. "I'm just having a hard time figuring out how to explain."

"If you're trying to stall for time so you can come up with exc—"

"No!" I said more forcefully than I intended. "It's not that – it's just that…" I sighed before finally admitting what's been plaguing my mind since I was seven years old and I first met Kurama. "It's just that I'm not smart."

"What?" he asked face confused at the odd statement that came out of my mind.

"I mean compared to you," I said pointing my finger at him. "Sure, I'm a good student and I'm not _stupid_ by any means but compared to you, my intelligence is probably minuscule, and talking to you leaves me feeling frazzled trying to think. And there's so much I wish I _could_ say but I can't so what's safe? What am I allowed to say without ruining everything? I don't exactly have a rulebook for everything which makes everything ten times more difficult to explain and now I REALLY have a huge urge to just _claw_ at my own skin," I realized I had already started itching at my wrists from nerves at having this conversation much earlier than I expected to.

"Just—just calm down!" Kurama ordered. I couldn't help but flinch when he placed his hands on each of my shoulders before guiding me to sit down on my bed. His face was a fusion of exasperation and worry. "Honestly, you're such a perplexity to me. I may be smart but you're by far the most confusing person I've ever come across in my entire life."

"Me?" I stared at him, dumbfounded at the possibility that _me_ – of all the people/demons he's met – could be the confusing one.

"Yes, you," he sighed as he ran a hand through his luscious, red locks. "Ever since we were seven and you gave me that damned Lily of the Valley."

"From when we met?"

"You said 'the most dangerous of creatures deserve happiness'," he quoted me. "It was a very _clear_ sign that you knew about me even then, but if you did know about me then how much of a moron would you have to be in order to give _me_ a plant? And you were seven? How could a measly seven year old human know about me?"

Okay, to be fair, Lily of the Valley are very pretty –"

"_Tsubaki_," he groaned again. "Six years, I've been trying to figure you out. Can't you just explain it to me? Like where did you manage to learn that move from? And how did you know my name?"

"If I told you that I wasn't from this world, would you believe me?" I asked hesitantly staring at my thumb that I'd been fiddling with since the start of this conversation.

"I'd be a insincere if I said it wasn't possible," he confirmed.

"Right," I nodded my head awkwardly as my teeth went to bite the dry bits of skin on my lips (a bad habit I reminded myself). "I don't really know what world I came from. It's very similar to this one, but still so different. I died in that world and then woke up as Tsubaki in this one. I don't know how it happened; it just did."

I could feel his eyes staring at me, watching me for the truth, waiting for my tale to continue.

"In that world, there was no such thing as spirit energy or demons, but we did have stories of them – stories of you. A legendary bandit thief that took shelter in the womb of a kind mother to be" I ended my tale there, not wanting to go on for fear of the ramifications that could happen if I told him everything. The story was crazy enough as it is, let alone if I started telling him that I was from the future and 'by the way that story? Yeah it's a manga!'.

"Interesting," he nodded his head. "But you're keeping something from me."

"We all have our secrets?" I tried as I started into his eyes hoping my best puppy dog face could alleviate the rest of his worries. "I'm sure you also have a few secrets up your sleeves."

"I do, and I suppose I'll accept your backstory, for the time being," he relented. "But where did you get that ring from? And that necklace you always wear."

"They're tools from Spirit world. But I **don't** serve them," I said wanting to make a point to show that I wasn't working for them.

"I see, so who do you serve?"

"The realm, my lord. Someone must." I shook my head, realizing that my references did nothing but fly over his head, chuckling at my own private joke. "I don't _serve_ anyone. Only myself."

"Okay."

"Wait—you don't sound angry with me," I pointed out.

"No, I'm more curious if anything," he stated.

"But you're not mad. No piercing glare, no uncomfortable silence."

He shook his head chidingly at me. "Can I really be mad at a person who recklessly endangered their life for my own?"

"I guess you really can't." I passed along a small smile. Then daringly I asked him, "Do you maybe have a _soft spot_ for me?"

"Perhaps…Your oddities have served to be quite…entertaining in this life." He stood up and made his way towards the window. "But make no mistake, Tsubaki. I'm not some _pet_ fox that was found and adopted by a kind woman. I don't want to have to be your enemy."

"I don't want to be your enemy either," I agreed before smirking. "You'd whoop my ass in a heartbeat."

The corners of his lips lifted in a way that I knew only I could make them. "Goodnight, Tsubaki."

"Goodnight, Shuichi," I responded.

"You can call me Kurama."

"Goodnight, Kurama."

* * *

It was difficult falling asleep after Kurama left. After a day and a half of doing nothing but sleeping my mind was now fully awake. I spent some time searching for an empty journal to write my thoughts down on. I wasn't much of a journalists in my past life, weakened wrists – partly from hereditary early arthritis – led me to have a preference for typing on a laptop verses holding a pencil for long periods of time. Unfortunately, I didn't have that luxury here. I also didn't have the luxury of creating password protected profiles or encrypted documents on a computer, so instead I went to work on my own coded project. A projected that I should've began the moment I was coherent enough to be able to write.

Procrastinations a bitch, but better late than never, right?

I worked away into the late hours of the night, creating my timeline of the world that I now resided in. It was as elaborate as I could form, but the interesting one – the one that I felt more confident on – was my current timeline. The changes I had performed the moments that seemed (to me at least) as if I had caused plot to move along.

A broken vase. A green jacket. A makeshift stick sword.

I analyzed and theorized my purpose in this world. The meaning behind each of the moments that led to a cause and effect chain of events to occur. Was I moving the plot along or was I simply inserting myself somewhere I didn't belong? The thought of it – of the lives I was affected – left me working through timelines and memories and possible outcomes for what felt like hours. Which worked out quite well for me since my next visitor had no way of surprising me when he entered through my window.

"Do they not teach you boys how to knock in demon world?" I reprimanded.

The fire demon looked taken back by my comment. He didn't approach me, preferring instead to stick to his spot by the window he snuck through.

"Tell me what you know, human," he demanded, voice low and domineering.

"Nice to see you again," I replied. "I don't believe we've formally met. My name is Tsubaki – "

"I already know your name. That half breed shouted it loud enough for me to remember," he said snidely. So much for becoming friends with my favorite repressed hero. "Now answer me."

"I'm not sure where your sister is," I answered. "Not yet, anyway. There are many trials and tribulations you'll have to go through before you're reunited again."

"A soothsayer?" he questioned doubtfully.

"Not exactly," I replied trying to figure out a way to explain my knowledge to him. "But I guess it's a close enough title."

"Titles are meaningless for me. If you don't know where she is, then you're of no used to me."

"If I'm no use to you then why are you acting so civil towards me? Didn't you threaten me with a sword the first time we met?" I asked confused on how surprisingly well behaved he was acting.

"The real question is why are you not afraid of me?" his eyes slanted accusingly.

"Because I had a brother before and I know how brothers work," I smirked remembering my own. "They act tough and indifferent but they're a kind breed."

"That naivety of yours will be the death of you," he commented, then after a moment – his eyes shifting slightly he added. "Tell me about the demon-boy."

"You got his name, right?" I asked, surprised that he needed further clarification.

"Kurama," he answered. Then a beat passed and his eyes widened in realization. "He couldn't possibly be – ?"

I nodded my head in affirmation.

"Impossible," he concluded. "How could someone as strong as _him_ be satisfied with a measly human vessel?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm not his keeper. How would I know?"

"Some soothsayer you are," he rolled his eyes. "But if what you say is true then why, pray tell, is he so cautious of you? The real Youko wouldn't allow someone such leeway with his secrets exposed as they are now."

He looked me up and down, gaging my strength, evaluating me for any hidden motives, searching for a way to use me for his own purposes. His eyes – even the one hidden away, tucked behind his band – pierced through me, looking for a way I could be of some use to him.

"You're nothing but a pesky human child," he concluded. "And yet, you are protected by forces greater than one can even imagine. What exactly is your purpose?"

"You tell me," I sighed. "Like you pointed out earlier, I'm not exactly the _best_ 'soothsayer' as you put it."

He glanced at me once more before he headed towards the window. "You'd best watch yourself. Don't make enemies that you can't handle."

"Is that advice that you're giving me?" I grinned at him. "_Brotherly_ advice?"

"I'm no one's brother." He retorted in a huff before exiting out the window he came from.

That went surprisingly well.

_Too well_.

Hiei hadn't killed me or threatened me with a sword, and despite the relief I should've felt from that alone, I felt something in the pit of my stomach. My gut wrenched into itself, twisting with a sense for foreboding.

Something wasn't right, and I had no idea what it could've possibly been. There was a puzzle missing and I needed it.

* * *

_The space around me was dark._

_ The only light around me was somehow illuminating outwards from my position. I could see my hands, my feet, my body – my old body. I had no way to seeing my face, but my wrist – thinner, slightly tanner and more bruised than Tsubaki's – were clear._

_It was my old body. A body whose name I could not remember anymore._

_It was much weaker than Tsubaki. Months of chemo and hopeful drug trials had taken its toll on it. Breathing – despite being in a dream – felt difficult, and my mind – my current one trapped within this body – felt claustrophobic. I was wearing remnants of an ugly hospital gown, an off white color, stained in sweat and dribbles of unknown substances that leaked from my own body. My nailed bad been bitten down on it's edges and the sides of my nail beds scratched at and ripped from my own anxieties of the very moment that I'd just returned to._

_Death._

_This was it._

_Nothingness._

_I had tried my best to keep myself as composed as possible knowing it was my last night. Something about it just felt so clear to me. The full moon seemed to call out to me, as if telling me that it would keep me company for the last time. _

_So this was it? Death?_

_I don't remember the pain of when it happened. It must've hurt, right? I mean I stopped breathing, was I that traumatized that my mind had completely shut itself off in those final moments. And I also didn't remember this place I landed myself in. Was this my earliest memory in this life? Or the moment when my old life blended into my current one?_

_"Are you confused right now?"_

_I stared unblinkingly into the dark landscape surrounding me searching for the source of the voice that called out to me. It sounded like a male voice, smooth and playful. I couldn't place a name on the voice but something about the way they sounded gave me a sense of familiarity._

_"I probably sound different to you right now," he laughed in amusement. "But you can trust me."_

_I didn't respond to them, but for some reason I felt like I could._

_"It'll all make sense eventually. You probably won't remember this moment for a while, but when you do remember, make sure you remember my voice."_

_"Okay," I said feebly._

_"I can't stay here for long," the voice called out. "You're in for quite the magical adventure." He hummed a few bars of what sounded like the Harry Potter theme song. "Oh, by the way. Don't trust everything you hear from Spirit World."_

_Then suddenly I was guided by a bright light and I was Tsubaki again._

* * *

Yusuke and Keiko waited for me outside my door the next morning.

"Glad to see you feeling better," Keiko greeted when I stepped out my door to meet her.

"To be honest, I'm still pretty tired," I admitted. "I don't really know what happened, but I was just so exhausted."

"I was exhausted this morning too but Keiko over here still dragged me out of bed," Yusuke complained, hands positioned behind his head.

Keiko ignored his comment with a roll of her eyes. "I was really worried when your mother called my house asking if I'd seen you. You really don't remember?"

"No idea," I shook my head, feigning ignorance like I did when my parents tried to interrogate me the last few days. "I just remember waking up in my bed and my mother screaming 'she's here! She's here!' and my father contacting the police to let them know I was safe."

"You don't remember you running out the school building?" Yusuke asked. "You ran out faster than I do when I trying to get away from Iwamoto."

"I remember that, but I'm not exactly sure what happened afterwards," I lied.

The two let the subject fall as we continued walking to school. It was the quietest walk the three of us have had in a long time. Yusuke didn't make his usual complaints – or at least he kept them to a bare minimum – and seemed intent on walking to two of us into the building at least. Maybe my strange disappearance/appearance left him feeling worried for his two friends.

My mind was still stuck at the series of dreams I had during the course of my recovery. I was in and out of sleep so many times that it was hard to determine which were memories or which were just absurdities.

Pieces of my past were starting to fade away, a fact that I realized would happen when I was nothing more than a toddler crying irrationally at the fading names of people, I once held so close. There were a few images that I refused to forget – some that I keep locked up tight within my heart – and significant pieces of my life stayed clear on my mind. Memories of fall in New England, the joy of being able to venture into _The _City without much thought on ifs or how's, and the memories of driving through country roads that lead into suburban towns winded past unique cities.

But overall, that last dream I had before waking up this morning left me perplex. Who's voice was it?

"Hello?" Yusuke's hands waved in front of my face. "Earth to the giant idiot standing in the middle of the road!"

I snapped out of my thoughts and followed Yusuke and Keiko across the rest of the walkway.

"Tsubaki, you should pay more attention when you walk," Keiko scolded, a frown forming on my worried face.

"Yeah, you should watch it," Yusuke commented. "You might get hit by a car if you aren't careful."

And at that, I couldn't help but start hysterically laughing.

"Tsubaki?" Keiko asked clearly concerned by my mental state. "Maybe you should've rested for one more day…"

"No, I'm fine," I reassured in between my chortles. I wiped away the tears that formed on the corners of my eyes. "Just, it's _funny_."

"What is?" Yusuke asked, also surprisingly concerned.

"_You_ telling me not to get hit by a car," I laughed again, letting my worries slide away. "It's hilarious actually!"

"I don't get it, do you?" I heard Yusuke whisper to Keiko. Keiko responded with a shake of her head – no doubt wondering how she ended up surrounded by weirdos for best friends.

I sighed – releasing a breath I'd been holding for so long. Patted both of their backs and said, "Let's head off to school, shall we? Nothing like a day of learning to focus our minds, right?"

"Seriously, _she's_ your best friend?" Yusuke asked Keiko again.

Keiko sighed again, "Between the two of you, I have no idea who to worry over more?"

It started raining halfway through the school day, which didn't help my already tired and troubled mind. Yusuke was forced to stay in class for the day, his rooftop hideout was too wet for him to escape towards and ditching class to roam about wasn't fun during rainy days. He chose instead to sleep throughout most of our lessons – a majority of teachers didn't even bother trying to wake him.

Looking at him sleeping so peacefully left me jealous. Sleep had taken over my last two days but none of it had felt peaceful in the slightest. During history class we were left in a darkened room, a dawdling voice playing from the documentary tape our teacher had played for us.

The ticking of the clock was still loud on the wall, somehow overpowering the noise from the tape that held our lesson.

Tick. Toc. Tick. Toc.

A repetitive sound that left me mesmerized into sleep yet again.

* * *

_"It's going to start soon," that same voice echoed from somewhere within the back of my head. "You remembered me at the perfect time."_

_ "Who are you?" I was able to ask this time._

_ "You'll meet me again soon," his voice echoed around me._

_ I tried searching for the voice again but to no avail. The only remnants of him were residual humming's of familiar tunes from a past life._

* * *

Keiko's soft hands jostled me awake in time for the end of class and the start of our lunch time meal.

"Tsubaki, this isn't like you," she said uneasily. "Maybe I should take you to the nurse."

"I'll be okay, just have to get my sleeping schedule back on track," I yawned. "Besides, Yusuke looked so comfortable sleeping in class it made me jealous."

Yusuke tiredly pulled up a seat beside Keiko, happily accepting the cutely wrapped bento box she had made for him.

"Yusuke's such a bad influence," Keiko shook her head. "Just don't start turning into a delinquent like him."

"I'm not that bad," he argued before trying to take an extra rice ball from her.

The two fell into their usual cycle of back and forth arguing. It was so sickeningly sweet and almost impossible not to love. Watching the two of them grow made it so much clearer for me what the anime never showed. The two of them were exactly what the other needed without taking anything away.

"You know, if you're actually going to show up for class then you should at least try to stay awake for your lessons," Keiko goaded, holding her extra rice balls away from Yusuke, pointing an angry finger at his face.

Yusuke placed his hands together in prayer, begging for another bite of 'mighty Keiko-sama's delicious food' at the same time that I quietly excused myself to head for the bathroom.

I didn't have to use the bathroom, just needed to get away. There was something about my mood today that left me wanting to stay away from the joyous couple. I found a comfortable place by the windows located around the corner from my classroom.

"Tsubaki!" Kuwabara's voice greeted from behind me. "I was just on my way to your class to check in on you." A giant smile was plastered on his face. He kept his hands on his hip is a superman-type position, confidence emanating from his body. "How are you feeling? I heard that you were out for the last two days."

I gave him the same explanation I had given to Yusuke and Keiko (aka no explanation) from this morning.

"That's really weird," he agreed. "But not the weirdest thing I've heard. Sis kept saying that the aura of the city had been strange the last few days, and I kept getting weird tickles all over the place too."

"Really?" I asked surprised. Why hadn't I thought to confide in Shizuru? She was one of two people that knew the _real_ truth of my existence.

"Yeah, but then two days ago everything sort of relaxed a bit," he confirmed. "I'm really glad that you're okay though." He chuckled again, smiling wide.

"It's because you need help with your homework, isn't it?" I laughed along with his infections spirit.

He nodded his head eagerly as he guided be back to his classroom so I could help him with his assignments for the remainder of our lunch period. I relished in the feeling of being needed by Kuwabara. This soon-to-be hero needed me, and although it was such a minor thing like homework, it made me feel good that I could do something positive for a character that I loved so much.

But that was when the words from my unknown entity echoed back into my brain.

"_It's going to start soon."_

* * *

_A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter! I know that Hiei and Kurama were acting a little out of character when they confronted Tsubaki but trust me when I say that it's all a part of the plot! Also I'm super excited because I think my 'prequel' phase of my story is just about complete which means we can start getting into the **real** nitty gritty pieces of my story and what I have laid out for it! I'm so excited and I hope you guys are too!_

_Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that favorited, followed and/or left a review. I feel so overwhelmed because of just how much feedback I was able to receive from everyone! So thank you to balancewarlord, xenocanaan, crystalinowl, TheEccentric1, LadyEllesmere, Pelawen Night, tammywammy9, kvs419, nevvy, Pumpkin, Alphamutt01, Vienna22 and a special thank you to **AnimePleasegood** for leaving a review of every chapter! Wow! _

_Also thank you to the person on Tumblr that reached out and sent me fanart of how they pictured Tsubaki to look like! That was the very first piece of fanart anyone has ever sent me for a character that I created and it made me feel so, so, so happy!_

_I really appreciate each and every single one of you for supporting the story so far and I hope you all continue to enjoy it!_


	14. When Soon is Too Soon

**Chapter 13: When Soon is Too Soon**

* * *

_"When you said 'soon' before, how long was soon actually supposed to be?" I berated, sitting crisscrossed apple sauce, in the darkness of my dreamscape talking to the lone white light that kept me company on my dark and lonely nights._

_"Better watch what you wish for, soon can hit you like a brick," he warned. "But don't worry, Flower, it'll all make sense." The voice assured me in English. It was different from the usual, but it was a comfort. Freely speaking in my native language had been was a need that I didn't even know I had._

_"Can you at least tell me if I've finally fallen into madness?"_

_His friendly chuckles echoed within the landscapes of my mind. His presence had become a near constant in my life of recent months since his first manifestation within my dreams. His visits weren't consistent – or even predictable – but they came enough times where it was no longer frightening for myself._

_"Do you not like having me here?"_

_"Well, most would consider me crazy if I were to start telling them that I had some sort of mysterious dream friend," I retorted._

_"Oh? She considers me a friend now! What an improvement," he laughed again._

_"Well, as far as I can tell, you aren't trying to take over my mind or anything. I haven't done anything illegal or immoral," I listed our some of my worried I've had since his first appearance. "And you don't do anything aside from talk to me, so as far as I can tell you're just a manifestation of my inner turmoil."_

_"I could also be a manifestation of your inner demons," he laughed at his own joke that I didn't necessarily understand. "So, tell me, Flower, how goes it in your world?"_

_"Same old, same old," my usual answer. "There's a science exam next week, I have to submit a career plan soon, my mother's flower shop is booming and she's now working in a botanical laboratory. How about you? Any chance I can get any inside tidbits on you?"_

_"Didn't you just say that I'm just a manifestation of your own mind?" he reasoned._

_"That's just one of my theories."_

_Mysterious beings appearing in my head isn't the weirdest thing that could happen to me. Being reincarnated into my favorite Shonen series still takes the cake on that one._

_"What _are_ your theories then?" the flickering light asked._

_"My biggest theory is that I'm crazy," I said honestly. "My second is that you're some helpful force that'll help me make sense of this world."_

_He laughed again before saying, "Like some sort of Jedi Mind Trick?"_

_ "Pretty much," I shrugged my shoulders. "What do you look like?"_

_ "Why are you so interested?"_

_ "Well, it'd be nice to be able to put a face to this voice that keeps visiting me."_

_ "I'm sure you'll find out soon enough," he responded._

_ I rolled my eyes. "Is that your favorite word or something?"_

_ "I like to think I look somewhere between a cross of Neji from Shipudden and Sugawara from Haikyuu!"_

_ I paused for a moment to try and imagine a blend of the two characters. "I—I don't know how that would work exactly."_

_ "I guess you'll just have to wait and see," the glimmer of light laughed. "I think it's almost time for you to wake up."_

_ A part of me felt disappointed. This was the first time that I had been able to get even an inkling of information about my mysterious dream force and as soon as I got any new information it was already time to go._

_ Time to head back to reality._

_ Or at least a manga version of reality._

_ "Tsubaki—" The voice spoke sadly and softly, hesitation clear. "Everything will surely be okay."_

_ A part of me wanted to take the ominous to heart but another part of me – the part that took over – had something else entirely in mind when he said those words._

_ "Who are you? Sakura Kinomoto?" I laughed halfheartedly._

_ "Shuto," the voice answered. "You can call me, Shuto."_

* * *

Yusuke's death happened sooner than I thought it would.

It all started one Sunday when I decided to visit Shizuru at her house. My mother had been nagging me about cutting my overly long hair so I decided to finally relent and visit Shizuru for a small trim.

"Seriously, why didn't you come sooner? Your hair's down to your damn ass already," she complained as she brushed my hair. "And your split ends are awful."

"I know, I know," I sighed knowing how unkept my hair had been the last few months. "I just don't like cutting my hair."

"Not the pampering type, huh?" she presumed as she went to trim the ends off.

I let the silence fall for a moment before quietly revealing myself. "I had cancer—" I didn't like talking about my old life, or more like I've never had anyone I _could_ talk to about it. "—in my old life I mean. I never had hair longer than my shoulders and what little I did have always felt so thin and brittle."

"Oh."

"You don't have to say anything about it," I assured her. "Most people don't know what to say after something like that. Besides, I'm not sick anymore so it's not like it's a big deal."

"It's still a part of your life," she said the words so simply as if it was such an easy concept to grasp. "It's not an old life or a past life, it's just your life. Your story."

"Yeah," I agreed. "If I told you something, would you think I was crazy?"

"Kid—" she stared at me through the mirror. Eyes glazed over unamused. "—I always think you're crazy."

I laughed halfheartedly knowing that she's already heard my biggest secret so anything after that is probably nothing to her.

"So what is it this time?" she asked. "You talking to ghosts now?"

"Uh—" I hesitated for a moment.

"You're kidding me right?" she sighed as she place the hairdryer and the comb down.

"Not exactly!" I held up my hands up in defense. "There's just this voice in my dreams—"

"You—!" Shizuru scratched her head before karate chopping me softly on the back of my head. "You're impossible! Listen—" she pointed her index finger directly in front of my face. Thank God, Koenma didn't choose _her_ to teach the Spirit Gun to. "—you are a good kid. But you are a frickin' idiot."

"But—"

She placed her finger in front of my lips telling me to 'zip it' as she continued, "If you aren't careful, you're going to get yourself into some serious trouble. Friendly or not, it might do you some good to actually doubt some of these mysterious figures that pop up in front of you. Remember that demon we saw back at Genkai's?"

I nodded my head.

"I'm _sure_ that there's a whole lot worse out there especially considering you always have a worried look on your face. So just be careful but you're a nice and naïve girl and there's a _whole_ lot of shitty people in this world that'll take advantage of that," she pointed out.

I nodded my head again, unable to argue back with her.

"You didn't get out much before, did you?" she asked.

"I went out…just not as much as I would've _wanted _to," I admitted looking away from her direct glare.

"How old were you?" She finished with my hair and chose to pull up a seat near me, lighting a cigarette in the process. Before it probably would've bothered me but I'd grown accustomed to the smell and pushed away any judgements I had. Being born in this time period I knew it was expected. Even my father, a doctor promoting health, partook in smoking.

"Biologically I was 22, but socially I was probably stunted somewhere in my mid-teens," I admitted. "Growing up with cancer doesn't exactly get you a ton of friends."

"Damn," she released a puff of smoke into the air. "Tell you what, when you're of drinking age I'll take you out. We'll go crazy, clubs, bars, whoever you're dating at the time will hate my guts and neither of us will care—"

I threw my head back in laughter imagining what a night out on the town would be like with Shizuru.

"—But seriously," she pulled me out of my laughs and snuffed out the butt on her cigarette. "Be careful, strange and mysterious voices don't exactly sound comforting. What does it say to you?"

I wanted to disagree with her. The voice felt familiar, safe, maybe even kind. But she did make a point and I wasn't going to argue with Shizuru of all people. "He doesn't say much—" I thought for a moment trying to find the right words to summarize the few visits I'd had. "—he makes a lot of pop culture references, and he'll give me super vague warnings but doesn't tell me anything else aside from 'be careful'…he did give me a name though, Shuto."

"Any familiarity with the name?"

I shook my head.

"You wanna visit Genkai?" she asked, one eye checking my face for the truth.

I shook my head again. "I don't want to bother her. Besides, I haven't gotten much stronger or better at any spiritual abilities and she'd probably whoop my ass and call me lazy."

Shizuru looked like she was about to ask me more questions but suddenly the door to her house burst open.

"HEY SIS! WHERE'S THE FIRST AID KID?" Kuwabara's loud and frustrated voice shouted – breaking us out of our somber moods.

"Kuwa-chan?" I called out as I followed Shizuru over to the entryway of their house.

"Oh, Tsubaki, you're here? Hey nice haircut!" he complimented with his usual grin. His face was mangled, black eye clear on his face, traces of blood dripping down his cheeks, bruises…well, everywhere.

"Kuwabara! What happened to you?" I shrieked with worry.

"It was that dang Urameshi," he shook his fists into the air, face falling as he recalled the reason for his loud entrance into his house. "I challenged him again today and he beat me to a pulp without a single ounce of remorse. I know he's your friend and everything but what is with him today? He was even more brutal than usual."

I frowned, sitting down beside him on the floor. "You two should really stop fighting—" I carefully maneuvered his face to analyze the scrapes Yusuke had given him. "—I swear you'd look so much more handsome without all these bruises on you."

"Aww gee, you think I'd be handsome?" his smirk returned to his face.

I rolled my eyes at his grin.

"Of course, you focus on that, little bro," Shizuru said as she handed me their first aid kit. She turned at her heel, shaking her head, and walking back towards her bedroom. "Here, you do the healing. I don't want a _single_ drop of blood on these floors, got it, Kazuma?"

Kuwabara shivered at the sound of his sisters' orders.

"You know you don't have to keep fighting," I suggested as I soaked a cotton ball with some antiseptic and carefully started dabbing at his face. He winced at the touch of the cotton. "Sure, you wince at _this_ but now at the beat downs Yusuke gives you." I shook my head again. "Did you at least land a punch this time?"

"Even better!" he smiled. "I landed two this time!"

"Waaa—" I said sarcastically. "That's incredible. Congratulations."

"I can't stop fighting," he said softly. "I don't know what it is, but there's something inside me telling me that I need to get stronger, and that's what Urameshi does for me. He pushes me to get stronger. No matter how many times he beats me up he always lets me challenge him and he never goes easy on me—" he stared pensively at the door. "He's never made sense to me since we were kids, he was always picking on you and Keiko – what kind of guy would be mean to two cute girls? – but whenever our fist collides it's like I understand him a bit more each other."

I nodded my head in understanding. Even now, so early into the events that's to come, he was preparing. Some innate source within him is telling him to prepare and get ready for the crazy adventure ahead of him. He didn't have his own Shuto to warn him, but his intuition alone was enough to trigger his need to fight.

The mood had fallen, which wasn't typical with my conversations with Kuwabara. It was strange, seeing this young boy so serious and worried when – as far as he understood – there was nothing to be worried over.

"I still don't approve of your scuffles with Yusuke," I criticized. "But I know nothing I say will change your mind. Just be careful, and don't lose _that _about yourself, okay?"

"Lose what?"

"That heart of yours," I answered. "Your honor code, your kindness. How you always try your best without having to be reminded."

"I like talking to you, Tsubaki," He said the words shyly as if he'd been thinking about them for a long time. "You've always believed in me, ever since we were kids. It's a really good feeling." His eyes looked slightly watery, almost as if he felt slightly guilty.

"What's with the look?" I asked curiously. As far as I knew I was being nice to him, why was he looking so distraught? And then, that was when it hit me like lightning striking Ben Franklin's kite for the first time. "Show me your exam."

Kuwabara gulped. Loudly. "Okay, but before I show it to you, just remember that I _did_ try my best! I _always_ try my best, remember?"

"Kuwabara." I glared.

"I _swear_ I tried really hard on it," he pleaded as he started pulling out the sheet from his bag. "It was just that I got into a fight with some punks from another school and—"

"YOU GOT A SEVEN?!" I screamed loud enough for Shizuru to hear from the confines of her room.

"HE GOT A WHAT NOW?" she screamed out, raging down to grab him by his still bruised face.

* * *

I escaped out of the Kuwabara household before Shizuru could pummel me – the tutor – the way that she had trashed Kuwabara. Shizuru and I were both of the mind that Kuwabara was capable of so much more than a seven on an exam, but at this point Kuwabara prioritized other things. He understood the material, that much was clear when I made him go over the answers, he got wrong (which was pretty much everything) but he just wasn't applying himself currently.

I wasn't sure if it was his sudden need to improve his fighting prowess (which I can't object to knowing what's to come) that got in the way or if it was just the lack of focus (Akashi as his homeroom teacher _definitely _doesn't help), but regardless it didn't sit well with me.

He got a _seven_.

And I knew what that meant.

I'd watched the early episodes of Yu Yu Hakusho enough times to remember that line from one of the few Kuwabara-centric episodes. I guess my mysterious Shuto _was_ right when he said it would be soon.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Yusuke's sudden voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I almost yelped at the sudden appearance but instead I collected myself and asked, "what did you get on your last science exam?"

"What?" Yusuke asked confused (as always).

"Just answer the damn question!" I rolled my eyes irritated at his need to question everything I say to him.

"A DAMN TWELVE, OKAY?" he shouted back. "Now go ahead call me stupid or whatever you're leading up to!"

And normally, I would've. Normally, I would laugh at him, call him an idiot, tell him that if he got his head out of his ass, he could actually amount to something more in life. But this wasn't the case.

Instead I cried.

"God damn it," Yusuke groaned. "Keiko's gonna blame me for this, isn't she?"

"Sorry," I sniffled. "I just—" and I lost it, completely. Once one tear fell the rest followed like a great typhoon that not even Mulan could conquer. "—I-I-I don't know why I'm even crying!" I started shouting, a gasped at the lack of tact I had in me at this very moment.

"Would you just quit it!" Yusuke shouted at me, voice booming. "People are looking at me weird so just—just shut up already!"

"Bu-but-but…you got a twelve!" I blubbered again; voice hoarse from my ugly crying. "Why are you boys so dumb?"

"Urgh, girls," He groaned again. I couldn't see him, but his voice alone told me that he was rolling his eyes at my unexpected cries. I half expected him to just leave me there as the mess that I was, but instead he pulled me along by the collar of my shirt. "Just come with me. Jeez, what is it that time of the month for you too? First Keiko doesn't want anything to do with me this morning, then Kuwabara and now you too? What the hell is wrong with everyone?"

I stared at him – wide eyed like a deer caught in headlights. I took a breath and tried to look at him through my bleary tear-filled eyes.

"Where are we going?" I asked pulling back curious on what exactly he's planning on doing considering his fowl mood.

He turned around, took two steps closer to me and proceeded to wipe my tears and snot – roughly – using his sleeves. "You're turning into psycho-Tsubaki."

"Psycho-what?" I stared at him.

"Psycho-Tsubaki," he said matter-of-factly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and then he laughed. "That's what I call you when you get like this."

"Like _what_ exactly?" I crossed my arms offended by his words.

"You and Keiko get too into your own heads sometimes. It's really annoying. Crazy-Keiko and Psycho-Tsubaki," he laughed even harder at his own joke. "So c'mon, let's go to the arcade. I'll whoop your ass and then you can buy me food again! I'm hungry!"

"It's a school night," I half-argued back. I knew I was going with him regardless of what I said.

"It'll be _fuuunnn_—" he walked forward, hands in his pocket, sun preparing to set over the banks of the river flowing beside us. "Let's get some _sake_ into you! Then you'll be fun, or do you want beer? My mom's got some pretty premium shit in the fridge right now."

I scurried over to walk beside him, hands folded behind my back, before finally saying, in English, "I guess I could crack open a cold one with the boys."

"What?" He asked not understanding English. "You're Japanese so speak Japanese!"

"I just said that I'll accept the beer," I laughed. "Maybe no sake considering what happened last time."

"How is your redhead?" he teased.

"Still a redhead," I answered rolling my eyes.

"Did he make you cry again?" he half joked.

"No," I answered. "It was your fault this time."

"Mine?!" he shouted. "I didn't do jack shit to you!"

"That's not what I'm going to tell Keiko," I laughed as we continued our banter.

* * *

I didn't see him the next day despite Mr. Takenaka's voice reading loud and clear on the school intercoms stating that Yusuke, was in fact, seen at school that day.

When Keiko and I walked to school this morning, a part of me was hopeful that it was one in fact _that_ day, but it was just before lunchtime when the announcements started.

"Urameshi, please report to my office immediately," the speakers rang out repeatedly. "I know you're here today. Urameshi—"

I blocked it out because I _knew_ what that meant and the more I heard it the more my heart hurt and the more my chest filled with doubt and guilt for the boy who had become my friend.

When the bell rang indicating lunch Keiko quickly stood and asked me, "I'm going to look for Yusuke. Want to come with me?"

I shook my head not wanting to insert myself into this particular moment. Just like Taylor Swift, I very much wanted to remove myself from the narrative entirely. "I'm not feeling too well—" I admitted. "—I might just go hide out in the nurse's office for a bit."

"Want me to go with you?" She offered kindly.

I quickly raised my hands up in refusal. "No, absolutely not. I'll be fine, just go find Yusuke before Mr. Takenaka blows his head off."

She nodded her head and quickly left the room to find Yusuke.

I didn't want to disturb them.

Although not their last moments together, I knew that this would be one of their last moments for the time being and I didn't want to take it away from the two. It's sad and the thought of it made my gut wrench again as I made my way to the bathroom. I didn't want to throw up. In fact, I hated it. Out of any possible human function possible it was my least favorite. But I wasn't entirely sure if my stomach could handle everything that was about to transpire. I didn't trust it, so instead I found refuge in one of the empty stalls on the third-floor girls' lavatory.

I allowed myself one silent cry – much different from what Yusuke had to deal with yesterday – before walking out and reminding myself that it would all be for the best. That this _had_ to happen. I sent a prayer up (to where I'm not entirely sure) hoping for everything to work out as it should, hoping that I hadn't completely messed everything up and hoping that Yusuke – the heroic idiot that he is – would survive this ordeal and every ordeal to come. I paused in front of the window when I saw a flash of green escaping from Takenaka and sauntering past the school gates.

Whatever reservations I had about this moment were pointless. At this point, it was too late as I watched Yusuke disappear from my sights.

An hour and a half later, a new message could be heard over the loudspeakers calling for Keiko and I to go to the teachers lounge. It was Takenaka that delivered the news, his face full of sympathy and remorse. Keiko cried and I was the only pillar that could hold her up. Takenaka shed a single lone tear as he placed his hand on mine and Keiko's shoulder for support.

My parents were already at the front of the school ready to take us to the hospital, that the EMT's took Yusuke too, where a doctor or nurse would officially pronounce Yusuke dead. Keiko's parents were in the waiting area with a listless Atsuko. Everyone was hoping for the best but expecting the worse.

Atsuko and Keiko didn't speak, just silently leaning against each other, as everything moved around them. Keiko's mother went with Atsuko to claim the body as my parents handled speaking with the staff at the unfamiliar hospital. A part of me thankful that Yusuke hadn't ended up at my father's building, I didn't want my second home feeling tainted by the death of a friend. Even if that death was only temporary.

_Hopefully temporary_, a thought filtered into the back of my mind. Shoving the thought aside I focused on what was needed.

If my parents needed a pen for documents, I grabbed one for them. If Keiko was shivering, I found her a blanket. If her parents looked tired, I was ready with a cup of coffee. And for Atsuko, once we were all congregated back at her tiny apartment sorting through the funeral arrangements, I was the one who grabbed her a beer – the same brand that Yusuke had snuck out for me last night – and popped it open for her.

I didn't approve of her drinking, but (in this case) she really needed one.

The days flew quickly into the next and before I knew it the vigil was set for this weekend. Flowers were delivered to Atsuko's apartment, mats and incense placed, and a bowl of offerings (baskets of apples and oranges that I was sure Yusuke was complaining about) were laid out. The picture was chosen by Keiko even though she still refused to speak. I was the first one who saw Yusuke in his casket. Atsuko was in a stupor and Keiko sat in the corner of the room staring at the casket. I offered to go up with her but she shook her head still not ready.

"The mortuary made your face look too innocent," I spoke softly. "You probably would've preferred to keep a few cuts and bruises on your face." I stared into his face. It was _so young_. "I'm sorry, Yusuke. I'm so sorry."

More guest started arriving. Half of them I didn't recognize, a few classmates – most of whom had never spoken to him – and I saw the faces of a few teachers. I didn't want to look at any of them. Instead I focused my attention back towards Keiko.

I placed my hand onto her back. She stared up at me like a lost and confused newborn lamb, eyes filled with tears that she was trying to hold back. Her eyes were pleading with me to make the pain go away – a task I knew I couldn't offer. I slowly lifted her from her spot in the corner. She refused at first but after seeing the look of sympathy in my eyes she relented. I offer a hug, despite knowing that the only hug she wanted was no longer possible, and she cried into my shoulders.

Keiko was a proper child. She'd always been polite and gentle since she was young. Even her crying at the moment were gentle and kind. She was one of the best that humanity had to offer the world. She was smart and helpful and growing up the one thing Yusuke and I always agreed on was that Keiko deserved the world.

She did not deserve this.

No one deserved this. Atsuko – despite her absentee parenting methods – did not deserve to lose a child, Keiko didn't deserve to lose her true love and Yusuke most certainly did not deserve to lose his life.

A tear lacquered with sadness and regret, fell down my cheeks as I held my best friend as tight as I possible could.

"Will you go with me?" she asked softly indicating towards the alter.

"Of course."

I guided her frail body – had she eaten any of the food I'd tried to give her earlier? —towards the casket. I expected her to cry, she'd been crying ever since we first heard the news, but she surprised me.

She stood before the open casket and the only words that came out were not what I expected. "Yusuke, you jerk."

"He is a jerk, isn't he?" I nodded my head agreeing with her words.

"The biggest," Keiko continued. "He never did his own laundry."

"He never did his own homework," I added.

"He's the biggest perv around." Keiko's voice quivered slightly.

"He takes your things without asking."

"He's a jerk."

"The biggest." A tear rolled down my cheek.

"But I'd do anything just to see him again," Keiko said looking down onto the floor. "A hundred loads of laundry, a million and one skirt flips."

"Me too," I agreed putting my arms around Keiko. "I'd do anything to get him back."

Keiko's sniffles were started to gain momentum. We excused ourselves from the living room and went into Yusuke's bedroom. It was small and a huge mess since no one had been in the right headspace to clean it out yet.

"When was the last time you slept, Keiko?" I asked noticing the dark circles and the withering, glazed look in her eyes.

"How can I?" she argued. "Whenever I close my eyes, I keep playing back my last conversation with him and it leaves me too sad."

"Yusuke wouldn't want you like this," I pointed out, moving her towards Yusuke's futon. "Why don't you try to rest a little, and when things calm down here I can walk you home?" I gently pushed her head down towards the pillow, releasing the slightest bit of my spirit energy to hopefully heal her troubled mind.

"You haven't slept either," Keiko pointed out as she closed her eyes. "But maybe just close my eyes for a moment."

Keiko's friends from school came as well. They had always been scared of Yusuke, but they came today in support. I asked them to stay with Keiko when I heard Kuwabara's voice echoing from outside.

"URAMESHI!" The gentle, kindhearted Kuwabara shouted. "Damn you! You think you can just back out because you're scared!"

"Kuwabara, this place is for mourning," Okubo tried to reason as he tried to pull him back.

"I'm not going to leave!" Kuwabara shouted back. "Not until he comes out of here and lets me fight him! I'm going to beat you down, you punk! You hear me? Who do you think you are, huh? Dirty punk! Who am I going to fight now, huh? You're supposed to be here. For me!"

He tried punching the picture but he couldn't follow through. His body slumped as his friends started to drag him backwards. I made my way towards him, nodding for his friends to release him, placed my hand on his shoulder. He stared at me – lost, unable to process the unfortunate event before us – and he let me take his hand and guide him back outside.

"He probably saved that little kid on accident while he was trying to knock him down," I overheard Akashi whisper to Iwamoto.

Kuwabara and I balled up our fists at the same time, instinctively wanting to defend Yusuke when he, himself, could not. But Mr. Taneka beat us to it. He placed a tight grip on their shoulders and just from one look at his solid frame I allowed myself to relax.

It was no time for fighting. No, the fighting would come later, and so I continued pulling Kuwabara away. Away from the onlookers and away from the all too quiet body of Yusuke Urameshi.

"Tsubaki, I—" but Kuwabara couldn't finish his sentence, choking on the words his heart wanted to say but his tongue could not.

"I know," I replied back. Holding him in a tight embrace. "I'll miss him too."

Kuwabara was so much bigger than I was. He was large and built full of muscle, it was strange being the one to hold him up, support him during this time.

"I never told him that he was my friend," he said the words so quietly that I almost missed it.

"He knows," I answered, and if he didn't, I'm sure he knows now.

He nodded his head, believing the words I said – because they were the only source of comfort he could take – and said he needed to go think. He turned away from me, shoulders slumped over, walking listlessly into the evening roads. Okubo, Sawamura and Kirishima bowed in front of me, gave their condolences and followed their leader into the darkness.

I watched the boys walk away into the darkness. I wanted to follow, to check and make sure that Kuwabara would be okay, but I knew Keiko needed me more. Kuwabara was strong, I reminded myself, he'll be okay.

I made my way back to the apartment complex in time to see Keiko falling to her knees at the door. Her two friends did their best to hold her up but instead she just cried. I guess my healing hands couldn't do much for a troubled mind and a grieving heart.

"Thank you for staying with her," I said nodding my head at them. "I'm going to take her home. Hopefully she'll be able to sleep there."

I found Mr. Yukimura in the crowd and together he and I accompanied Keiko home. None of us spoke of our sadness. Instead we chose silence, unable to comprehend our thoughts for the boy that we all lost today.

Please dear god, bring Yusuke back to us.

* * *

My thoughts and prayers couldn't ease my hectic mind.

So, once I returned to my house, I did the only thing I could think of to do. I went to Koenma. If my presence had changed this world to the point where Koenma wouldn't choose Yusuke as his Spirit Detective then prayers wouldn't do anything for me. Begging on the other hand – that might work with Koenma. Begging and compliments were the best way to get to get that damn toddler to do anything.

I lit the wick of my candle, and let my spirit float upwards.

I wasn't sure where Yusuke or Botan were anymore. Even during the more somber moments the anime and the manga made everything seem so fast pace. But if between Yusuke's death and the funeral arrangements took place within the span of days then did that mean that Yusuke wouldn't be at Koenma's office now?

It was Ayame who found me.

Her black robes practically camouflaged with the night sky background. If it hadn't been for her pale face my eyes would've missed her completely. I'd never interacted with her very much. She was much more serious and experienced compared to Botan so she was usually given more serious cases compared to the few assignments that Botan would give me. Not only that, but I was aware that she reported directly to King Enma, so trusting her for me was still up in the air.

"Ayame-san," I greeted with a small bow.

"I thought I sensed someone that didn't belong flying about," she observed. "I'm guessing you want to find out about that friend of yours?"

"Is he—?" But she cut me off almost immediately.

"Yes," she nodded her head. "Koenma has chosen him. However, it seems he's still hesitant. Or perhaps he's just usually obnoxiously obstinate?"

"Obnoxious would be the current term to describe him," I confirmed. "But he doesn't want the job?"

"We…can't tell?" She said trying to offer me what little knowledge she had. "Do you want to see him?"

I stood (floated?) there shocked at her offer. "You mean that's allowed? When I saw you floating there, I was sure it was because someone sent you to stop me."

"Master Koenma assumed that you would try to visit tonight." The way that her voice lifted at the mention of Koenma sent signals directly to my shipping heart.

She offered the back of her oar and, like her job title entailed, she guided my spirit towards the familiar buildings and bridges.

"How big is Spirit world?" I asked looking over at all the supposedly empty area.

"It's never ending, just like the circle of life," she mused. "I don't believe there's a single being, human or spirit, that has ever traversed the entirety of our world."

"And does _everyone_ come here?" I asked. "Regardless of the world or universe?"

"I would believe so. I've never heard otherwise," she concluded. "That's how souls are able to navigate across multiple jurisdictions."

"Wait, souls?" I asked curiously revealing the tiniest sliver of hope for someone who could relate to me might exists. "As in plural?"

"We're here—" she said too quickly, ignoring my question entirely. "I have other duties to attend to. I'm sure you know the way by now?"

"Our conversations not over, Ayame!" I shouted into the skies as she hastily flew through the skies.

Sighing, I turned at my heels, rang the buzzer and requested to see Koenma.

I was still a few turns away from Koenma's office when I heard Yusuke's voice rattling off.

"What am I supposed to do with this egg? Crack it open and make an omelet?"

Excitement took over, my feet quickening their pace on instinct. I rounded the corner and burst into the office ignoring the complaints coming from Koenma and Jorge telling me that I should've knocked first.

"Yusuke!" I shouted with glee. Tears filling my eyes as I almost knocked his spiritual body over with my tackle.

"What the fuck? Tsu-baka?" Yusuke blinked his eyes once and then twice, rubbed his eyes clear and continued to stare. "How the hell did you end up here? Don't tell me—" he panicked. Both hands holding his head up as if it would bring about some form of sanity. "—if we're _both_ dead then Keiko's _really_ going to blame me for this somehow!"

"Relax—" but he didn't let me explain.

"YOU IDIOT! You know that we can't _both_ leave her alone! Now who'll watch out for her? Kuwabara?!" he started pacing back and forth. "OVER MY FRICKIN' DEAD BODY!"

"Yusuke—" Koenma tried helping.

"Listen pacifier breath!" Yusuke threatened. "Just tell me how to eat this damn egg already so I can get back to Keiko! Do I boil it, fry it or scramble it?!"

"Yusuke!" Botan shouted, oar flying in direct aim for Yusuke's head. "WOULD YOU JUST LISTEN ONCE TONIGHT?!"

He rubbed the bruises on his head, but he remained quiet after seeing the glares shooting out from Botan's eyes each time he tried to speak.

"I'm not dead, Yusuke," I started off. "This is just my spiritual conscience that you're speaking to. My real body is asleep in my room."

"Allow me to explain," Koenma interjected. "Tsubaki is one of my recruits. She's our human field investigator—"

"And doer of stuff!" Jorge interrupted as he swept in more piles of paperwork for Koenma to stamp.

"—yes, and doer of stuff," Koenma coughed, trying to clear his throat. "She assists in assessing the human world, observing strange enigmas and helping the occasional wayward spirits—"

"And getting rid of annoying tanuki spirits," I added. "He _always_ gives me the tanuki spirits."

"Stop interrupting me and let me explain!" Koenma scolded. "I was going to wait until you were alive again before telling you about your new position, but since Tsubaki is here I supposed it wouldn't do any harm in explaining." He paused for a moment, placing his chin on his small fists contemplatively. "We were interested in offering you the Spirit Detective position. We were going to try other ways of contacting you, but you seemed to prefer the more _direct_ route, it seems."

"Wait, really?" I asked surprised. "You would've offered him the job even if he wasn't dead?"

"Usually the detective would need more spiritual prowess," Koenma established. "But he's been shown to be a strong fighter and the two of you seem to world well together, so we were willing to set it aside. I was debating on another one of your friends actually, but then Yusuke, well, died."

"So…he didn't _have_ to die?" I felt my heart wrench within itself. Whatever guilt I felt before was now tenfold. As if a giant ten pound anvil were weighing down on my chest.

Koenma shook his head in confirmation. "We'd been watching hi—"

"I AM SO SORRY, YUSUKE!" I hung my head in a bow. The deepest of bow that I could muster on two legs, and when that didn't feel good enough, I fell to my knees. "I am _so_ sorry. So unbelievably sorry."

"Sorry for what exactly?" he asked unsure of what to do with this new position he found me in.

"I could've stopped you," I answered, head still down, tears pooling in my eyes. "I _knew_ you were going to die. I could feel it in my bones. The moment I heard Taneka calling your name on the loud speakers that morning in school, I _knew_. I'm so sorry."

"How could you have possibly known that?" he questioned.

I proceeded to explain as best as I could. I gave him the gist's of what I'd said to Kurama a few months ago, only more in depth. He'd be Spirit Detective, he'd find out eventually. His eyes went bug eyed at the words I spun for him. Reincarnation. Vague foreshadowing about the adventures to come. The insertion of myself into a narrative I had no business being in.

"That's insane," he concluded, then after a beat. He laughed. Hysterically. "No _wonder_ why you're always so uptight and frickin' psycho!"

I stared at him from the ground I was still kneeling on. "You're not mad?"

"Stand up, already," Yusuke grabbed one of my arms and pulled me up in one swift motion. "You're creeping me up seeing you bowing and shit in front of me. It's sending shivers up my spine."

"Why aren't you mad at me? You should be refusing to speak to me right now!"

"Well, because I get to come back, right?" he shrugged. "Does it even matter then? You _knew_ that King Toddler here would bring me back, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"And I get to be some sort of cool detective now?" He asked, putting his hands behind his head as if he had no care in the worlds despite being dead.

"Yes, but—"

"But nothing," Yusuke said looking me in the eyes, his kind and friendly smile – that he only shows to those he's closest to – directed straight at me. "It was pretty fun being a ghost for the day. Puts things into perspective for you."

"So, will you forgive me?" I asked sheepishly.

"Nothing to forgive," he said, his kind smile turning into a devious grin.

A spark of fight lit up in my eyes at his words. I snatched at his ear, twisting it between my index finger and thumb. "Say you forgive me!"

"Let bygones be bygones!" he laughed.

"You _know_ I hate not being forgiven!" I shouted, twisting his ears harder.

"Okay! You're forgiven, now let go will ya! You'll upset my egg!"

Koenma cleared his throat rather loudly to focus our attention back towards him. "While it's lovely that no one is mad at anyone, can we focus back onto the matter at hand?"

"You mean this guy?" Yusuke said holding up his golden egg.

"Yes, this egg will feed off of the energy that the owner provides it and will take its form based on the nature of the energy," he said the words slowly to make sure that Yusuke took in his words clearly. "In other words, if you're good the spirit will help guide your body back to the land of the living, but if you're bad then the creature inside will hatch and devour your soul."

Yusuke gulped at the words and stared directly at the egg he was given.

"Well, you're not going to have to worry about your body being devours if it's just going to be cremated tomorrow," Botan pointed out.

"Shit! You're right!" Yusuke shouted, terrified at the thought of getting burnt up.

But this time it was my turn to cough. "I can stop it—" I suggested. "—but you might want to try contacting someone so that way no one thinks I'm crazy."

"Aren't you already crazy?" Yusuke goaded.

"You little—"

"No time for you two to start arguing again!" Botan said pulling out her oar. "We have to drop Tsubaki off and then make sure your body doesn't get burnt to a crisp!"

* * *

"Okay, Tsubaki," Botan commanded me when we reached my house. "Back into your body, you know there are a few side effects the more you stay separated from your body."

"Right," I nodded my head before staring at Yusuke. "So, I guess I won't see you for a while then."

"Hopefully you actually do see me again," he joked trying to ease the somber moment.

"Don't joke about that," I scolded. "Make sure your spirit beast doesn't end up eating you."

"I'll try my best. No promises, though," he grinned. "Take care of mom and Keiko for me, will ya? Just for now, until I come back."

"I will, and when you're back we can go back to fighting over who gets Keiko's attention for the day."

"Exactly," he smiled before holding his hand out for a fist bump.

"Tsubaki," Botan interrupted. "I should remind you that you should stay away from Spirit World until Yusuke is back. During his Ordeal he isn't allowed to have any outside help."

"Yeah, so try to keep your nosy little head in the land of the living," Yusuke said as he flicked my forehead. "Don't worry, though, I got this in the bag!"

"As long as that egg doesn't eat you, I'll be happy to stay _far_ away from you. Almost like a vacation," I stuck my tongue out as I waved goodbye. "Tell Keiko I said hi." And I drifted back through my window and straight into my bedroom.

I lifted my body out of the bed, slightly sore after being separated for much longer than my usual. The candle had blown out, leaving traces of its residual scent behind.

But there was something else laying in surprise for me. On my desk was a potted plant. I stood – legs tingling slightly, sending prickles up my spine – to get a closer look. The white ceramic pot held white peace lilies within them, growing strong and tall. A short card was beside it.

_My condolences._

It had to have been Kurama. And while sweet in gesture, the thought of him entering my room while my body had been so vulnerable left such an eerie feeling lingering on my skin. I felt like I could trust him enough, or at least I _wanted_ to trust him enough, but the thought of it left me feeling something I'd never felt before from him.

I was _scared_.

And that didn't bode well with me, especially not with the upcoming arcs about to unfold. Everything was happening too soon, and it was already evident that my presence had changed the flow of events. While the larger overarching plot line stayed the same, the lead up to everything was different.

It was too soon to tell what these changes will lead to further down the line, but I pushed it off and went to work on the journals I had started previously. I knew I would not be able to sleep very much tonight with all the lingering thoughts inside my head.

_'Soon is just too damn soon, Shuto.'_ I said the words inwardly, hoping that my remark would somehow reach him.

* * *

_I wanted to get this chapter out quickly because I think I'm going to take a pause and do a little bit of planning for the next few chapter since we're finally entering canon! Or at least Tsubaki's version of canon! I am equally excited and terrified at the thought of it, just like Tsubaki right now. _

_I just want to say thank you to everyone that favorited/followed the story and thank you to xenocanaan, Sarah, momohart, AnimePleasegood, kvs419, TheEccentric1, Pelawen Night, LadyEllesmere, nevvy and tammywammy9 for their reviews! _

_I hope you all enjoy this last chapter and get excited because it's gonna get crazy!_


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